Televisions can now listen to what we’re saying. If that sounds like something from a book, that’s because it is. A line buried in a Samsung Smart TV privacy policy describes how “spoken words” will be “captured and transmitted from a third party” through a voice command function.

It has resonated particularly powerfully because it bears remarkable resemblance to the dystopian world envisioned by George Orwell in 1984. In the novel – published in 1949 – citizens of Airstrip One (which used to be Great Britain) are subjected to a brutal regime that watches their every move, and attempts to monitor their every thought.

Surveillance is extensive in this frightening world. So much so that the televisions (or telescreens) directly monitor citizens. They can’t turn them off. They’re always there, watching, waiting, and you never know who is at the other end.

It’s a frightening image. But Orwell’s 65-year-old vision of the future is distinctly analog. The unfortunate reality is that televisions are the least of our worries in a world that listens, follows and watches us more and more.

You’re might be reading this on a laptop now, but how do you know your microphone and camera aren’t on? And if you’re reading this on your phone, you know that all your movements are being sent back to the company, right? And did you use Google to find this story? If you did, your searches have probably also been stored.

The point is that it all goes far beyond just a television. Part of the reason for this is that companies like collecting data. They usually do it because it helps them make money. This means that they will, inevitably, overreach and seek more data, like collecting voice samples from people.

The problem is what happens next. Who is the third party the Samsung TV – or any of these devices – transmits to? An unusual feature of Australian privacy law is that it allows your data to be sent overseas to a country that has “substantially similar” privacy laws. What does that mean? It’s never been decided. Notice of this transfer should be given – but in some circumstances that can be delayed until as soon as “reasonably possible” after the fact.

The retention of all of this data, and patchy privacy laws, inevitably gives rise to uses that were never anticipated when the data was initially seized. Almost any of this data collected by these private entities can then be passed on, or sold, to third parties. Sometimes this can be other organisations, but it can also be to government and law enforcement agencies, such as in the case of requests for phone and web metadata.

So if you’re not comfortable with televisions that you can talk to but that might pass on your whispers to other parties, don’t buy one. But don’t forget that the world of digital surveillance is far bigger than just a screen.