Julian Assange has warned that global surveillance of citizens will soon be ‘unavoidable’ thanks to social media and online applications of official documents such as passports.
The Wikileaks founder said that within a year of being born, children are now known to ‘all major world powers’ because their ‘idiotic parents’ post their names and pictures on Facebook.
Assange, who is into his seventh year living at the at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, gave an interview during the World Ethical Data Forum in Barcelona.
Warning: The Wikileaks founder said that within a year of being born, children are now known to ‘all major world powers’ thanks to their parents posting on social media
‘This generation being born now… is the last free generation,’ he told Russian state-funded network Ruptly. ‘You are born and either immediately or within say a year you are known globally.
‘Your identity in one form or another –coming as a result of your idiotic parents plastering your name and photos all over Facebook or as a result of insurance applications or passport applications– is known to all major world powers.’
Assange also predicted a global cyber war in the near future, as the internet has no distance or borders, and hackers can attack anyone anywhere on the planet.
‘There is no border [online]. It’s 220 milliseconds from New York to Nairobi. Why would there ever be peace in such a scenario?’ he said.
Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, fearing he will be extradited to the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves.
Overstaying his welcome: Assange has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012, but the government has now cut off his phone and internet access
He initially moved into the embassy after he was accused of rape and sexual assault in Sweden, but the investigation was dropped in 2017.
As he breached his bail conditions by seeking Ecuadorian asylum, he could potentially be arrested by UK authorities, and so he remains at the embassy.
Despite an initial warm welcome, the Ecuadorians have reportedly grown increasingly tired of their live-in guest.
The Ecuador government cut off Assange’s phone and internet access earlier this year and banned people visiting him.
Weekly vigils are still held outside the embassy and in cities in other countries including his native Australia.
A member of Assange’s legal team also spoke at the at the World Ethical Data Forum this week.
Jennifer Robinson claimed the world’s major credit card companies and payment transfer services had banned WikiLeaks, cutting it off from the donations the organisation depends on to operate and to fight its legal battles.
Ms Robinson, of Doughty Street Chambers, added that she believed any prosecution of Assange will be used as a precedent against other media organisations.
‘The attacks on WikiLeaks have not just been legal attacks – there has also been a vilification campaign of the WikiLeaks project and of Julian personally by prominent politicians and the mainstream media, and a counter-intelligence operation, openly stated by the director of the CIA last year.’