In all seriousness, the mass interception and collection of data has taken place for years through other forms (Echelon for example) so it doesn't surprise me.
Smarts TVs, mobile phones, iPads, laptops et al. are all potentially liable to be used as a source of information. The question really is to what extent it occurs.
The security services and to a lesser extent the military are easily ten to twenty years ahead of what the common market have in regards to technology.
During Operation Banner, ANPR was being used during the 1980s whereas it only emerged here this century. Have you seen the recent gigapixel image?
People think it's remarkable that you can zoom in with so much detail but while it wasn't as clear, you could easily be seen from miles away - again back in the 80s.
