The use of IoT also has risks which can be illustrated by the example of on-board or surveillance cameras such as CCTV (“closed-circuit television”). These camera feeds can be misused to monitor individuals or places for criminal purposes (blackmail, burglary…). Compromises are not the only questionable case of CCTV usage.

On this basis, an undemocratic government could develop a network of cameras allowing its authorities to monitor the population. This practice can be coupled with the use of big data processing tools (e.g. facial recognition) to assign ratings to citizens according to their behaviour.