Surveillance Cameras Adding Audio Capability
Watch what you say
There has been a lot of attention recently to the issue of audio recording being added to surveillance cameras on public buses. This issue first came onto our radar in 2009, but resurfaced again in Maryland in October (see this October Baltimore Sun article). In December the Washington Post and The Daily reported that the practice is spreading widely across the United States.
In recent decades video surveillance cameras have become commonplace in our public spaces—a trend that appears bound to increase as cameras get cheaper, smaller, and easier to connect, and as images get easier to store. The arc is long for the chilling effects of cameras but over time, if the trend continues, they will have unfortunate effects on our experience of public places.
But if we start allowing the addition of audio surveillance to all those cameras, that will be an enormous and significant new assault on our privacy—one that will really reshape the character of public life in America.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?