Chris_Parsons (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chris_parsons) wrote,@ 2008-03-10 11:28:00 |
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Privacy vs. Fourth Amendment?
US citizens are supposed to be protected from unconstitutional search and seizure. This means that in order for government officials to search a person's belongings or dwellings they must have a probable cause. Now, for something to constitute a search the US Supreme Court has established a two-prong test; first a search occurs when government action would contravene or intrude upon a subject's subjective expectation of privacy, and second that expectation of privacy must be reasonable, insofar as society generally would recognize it as such.
Do you expect that whenever you're passing along a street that you will be being searched? When if comes to a new surveillance camera, that examines people's electromagnetic signatures it means that you won't be touched, by everything that you are carrying will be scanned and cross-referenced with contraband material lists. This is a significant shift from needing to receive some kind of judicial grant to conduct a search; it empowers persistent and affordable social surveillance.
Now, as of this writing these cameras are only intended for British airports, but I can't imagine something this useful staying in Britain. Given the Western world's growing adoption of CCTV, I expect that it will only be a matter of time until they cross the Pond and are mounted on street corners near you. But don't worry - it's for your security...
Source: Privacy: New Camera Can Tell Exactly What's In Your Pockets From 80 Feet Away
US citizens are supposed to be protected from unconstitutional search and seizure. This means that in order for government officials to search a person's belongings or dwellings they must have a probable cause. Now, for something to constitute a search the US Supreme Court has established a two-prong test; first a search occurs when government action would contravene or intrude upon a subject's subjective expectation of privacy, and second that expectation of privacy must be reasonable, insofar as society generally would recognize it as such.
Do you expect that whenever you're passing along a street that you will be being searched? When if comes to a new surveillance camera, that examines people's electromagnetic signatures it means that you won't be touched, by everything that you are carrying will be scanned and cross-referenced with contraband material lists. This is a significant shift from needing to receive some kind of judicial grant to conduct a search; it empowers persistent and affordable social surveillance.
Now, as of this writing these cameras are only intended for British airports, but I can't imagine something this useful staying in Britain. Given the Western world's growing adoption of CCTV, I expect that it will only be a matter of time until they cross the Pond and are mounted on street corners near you. But don't worry - it's for your security...
Source: Privacy: New Camera Can Tell Exactly What's In Your Pockets From 80 Feet Away
Technorati Tags: Privacy, Surveillance
