Noted writer and technology analyst Cory Doctorow just posted a new article on the Locus Online web site: “The Privacy Wars Are About to Get A Whole Lot Worse.”

After providing some background on the current privacy situation, and how we got here, Doctorow speculates on what will happen when even the absurd notice-and-consent terms of use agreements that we see (and blindly agree to) every day are gone, leaving us surrounded with devices that invade our privacy without any pretense at consent, all in the name of commerce.

In case you hadn’t guessed, we are talking about the Internet of Things. Despite plenty of warnings from privacy advocates, and numerous real-world examples of the consequences to privacy of poorly-designed devices, the current move toward ‘smart’, connected devices continues apace. And these devices won’t ask for your consent, they’ll just compromise your privacy by default.

Meanwhile, Doctorow wonders whether and when this will come to a head with some kind of legal challenge. There have been attempts to challenge the validity of terms of use agreements that nobody ever reads, but so far the results are not promising.

I’d like to see Microsoft singled out for its current Windows strategy, which includes gathering and transmitting user information, ostensibly for the purpose of providing better support, but which can also be used to better target advertising, another feature of newer versions of Windows. To be sure, these features are currently protected behind terms of use agreements, but even those could disappear in a world dominated by smart devices.

Doctorow is worried about this, and so am I.