Have you ever taken a picture at a New York landmark, like the Brooklyn Bridge or the Empire State Building? Well, you may now have to worry about being labeled as a potential terrorist, according to Wikileaks.
People who point out cameras in New York City are considered suspicious, and the facial recognition images captured of them from the CCTV are fed into a data center run by Abraxas Corporation, a firm that specializes in national security.
The Big Brother-esque system is connected with thousands of other cameras at landmarks across the country.
Information on the system has been released by controversial whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. The issue has infuriated privacy advocates, who say it is a violation of civil rights.
The questions of how good the technology raises questions of how much of our public interactions are tracked, as if the system is as sophisticated as many fear, these cameras can track our daily motions.
The New York City subway system alone has over 500 of these cameras. There are said to be thousands more around other states, as well as in Canada and London.
Is this system justifiable? Does the potential increased safety outweigh both the monetary costs and the public disdain? Only time will tell.
Elite.
