Is Your Phone Spying on You? Ronan Farrow on His New Doc “Surveilled” | Amanpour and Company

It's the one thing we never leave home without. Could it be our smartphones are spying on us? After becoming a target of hacking himself, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow made it his mission to shine a light on the shadowy world of cyber surveillance. Farrow joins Michel Martin to discuss his new documentary "Surveilled" and the frightening reality of spyware.
Originally aired on December 5, 2024

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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.

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[izzibreezes]

I wish all kids from celebrities were like Ronan…. Alas he truly is one of a kind.

[jansean]

Ronan Farrow is a man of the people. A protector. An example of how to put a privileged position in life to work for the greater good. He’s also heartbreakingly gorgeous.

[Desaved]

WOAH! An actual journalist doing journalism! Can't have any of that!

[czerskip]

This is missing a major point: it's not just about spying but also planting "evidence" on devices.

[GrimJerr]

If it connects to the internet expect it is spying on you !

[khoslar]

Brave journalist...amazing work and contribution to human rights...

[geofflepper]

I have a friend who has no cellphone, no electronic devices, no cable television and no car.

It's mainly because he feels no needs for those things but by not having them
he's probably keeping himself safer than the rest of us.

[tommynikon]

SNOWDEN warned us….years ago. Big Brother is HERE.

[maeshellewest-davies]

I’ve been restarting my phone every day. Thx Ronan!

[WonderMagician]

An essential report on the protection of our privacy - something we should all be protecting! Our privacy is the heartbeat of our life. People overlook the fact that false evidence can be implanted in our phones. We have given too many of our rights away. I will take the time to view the documentary.

[utopianna]

This morning I took an iPhone photo of my two cats wrapped in each others arms and half an hour later I was presented with a video on YouTube showing two cats wrapped in each others arms. I didn't click. Just saying this kind of spontaneous feed is not unusual, even though the subject may be more rare than cats!

[glenn.kadonoff]

Remember the good old days when the government needed a warrant for surveillance?

[laurajane]

Ronan, you're too thorough for the rest of them. Excellent work, keep it up!!

[joemartin]

Why is SNOWDEN's revelation 11 years ago is not discussed? The US gov was using this GLOBALLY - every call every email ever text and fax GLOBALLY is being recorded...

[krisdockers]

My wife were talking quietly, two full rooms ( about 12 metres away / one and a half walls ) from the google device that sits in the kitchen for utube or streamed music, the odd recipe and an oven timer. During this conversation the word google was used. The machine immediately lit up and declared, “ exactly, he is correct, google it yourself”. Anyhow, the wife personally took out the garbage on Wednesday night, and bought a cook book and a timer clock.

[ds]

Perhaps members of SCOTUS should be reminded they are not exempt from being spied on.

[katsandcounting]

I love Ronan ❤he’s such a great person.

[Tamara_W]

I do care, my privacy is extremely important to me. Hacking my devices is an intrusion of my personal privacy and confidentiality, inclusive of stalking.

[BeliaLastes]

Ronan is a very intelligent man and is a true journalist as far as I'm concerned, he's for the people 😊❤

[yvettetorres]

Of we’re being surveilled. It’s listening all the time. It’s not algorithms. I spoke something in another room from my cell and within an hour I received an ad about it. Nothing in my web activity would lead to it.