Police Now Can Switch off iPhone Camera and Wi-Fi (CORRECTED)

CORRECTION: Reader Michael Cromer points us to this report suggesting that the original story on VeteransToday may be seriously inaccurate.

Original post:

Police throughout the globe have been embarrassed to see online videos of their officers pepper spraying tied captives. In our age of mobile gadgets the pictures can be uploaded online in seconds, making supervisors to answer the questions.

But now the police may not need to fear scrutiny anymore, because Apple has recently patented a piece of technology that would allow the authorities and police to block data transmission, including video and photos, whenever they like. All they need to do is decide that a public gathering or venue is deemed “sensitive” and needs to be protected from externalities. In this case Apple will enable them to switch off all its gear. The developers insist that the affected locations are normally cinemas, theaters and concert grounds, but Apple admits it could also be used in covert police or government operations that may need complete “blackout” conditions.

Read more on VeteransToday.

Thanks to Joe Cadillic for the link.

And if law enforcement or government activate this in a public demonstration/crowd situation, how is this not a violation of First Amendment rights to film public employees in the performance of their duties?