Are You Being Watched?
It is Difficult to Pass Unnoticed
By John D. Turner
Have you had the feeling lately that someone is watching you?
You may have good reason. Someone probably is. It is increasingly
difficult in today's society to pass unnoticed:
●
Cameras watch you at the bank and the corner ice
house, in case of robbery.
● Cameras watch you when you pump
your gas, in case you drive off without paying.
● Cameras watch as you drive
along the freeway, to help control traffic flow and direct emergency
vehicles to the scene of accidents.
● Cameras watch you in the
stores, to guard against shoplifting.
You would probably be surprised to discover
how much of what you do every day is captured by cameras located in
the various places you frequent.
Most of this happens without you noticing. We
are vaguely aware of it happening, but with the pressing concerns of
our daily life to worry about, these sorts of privacy issues take a
back seat. If we do happen to think about it we usually dismiss it
as something over which we have no control.
Lately there have been a number of items in
the news that suggest that perhaps we should be taking a more active
interest in our privacy; others certainly are.
Have you ever rented a car? Have you ever
driven over the speed limit in a rented vehicle? Mr. James Turner
(no relation), a resident of New Haven, Connecticut did both. Last
October he rented a car from Acme Rent-A-Car, located in New Haven.
Later, when he received his bill, there were charges for an
additional $450. When he called Acme to question the charges, he was
informed that the contract he signed stated that there was a $150
fee assessed every time the renter drove in excess of the posted
speed limit. Mr. Turner had, apparently, exceeded the speed limit
three times during the time he rented the vehicle, and thus was
liable for the extra $450 in fees.
How did Acme know he had exceeded the speed
limit? All of Acme's cars are equipped with a global positioning
system (GPS). Many rental car companies have such receivers in their
cars, allowing them to track the vehicles. This acts as a deterrent
to theft and to enable recovery of the vehicle in the event that it
is stolen. It also means that any time you rent a vehicle, your
whereabouts are known.
Acme's system goes one step further. In
addition to tracking your whereabouts, it also monitors your speed.
If you exceed the speed limit for longer than two minutes, it
informs Acme, who then charges your account $150 for the infraction.
So far, Acme has "fined" 26 of its customers for such behavior.
Who appointed Acme as a minion of the law?
Well, no one. Acme defends their position as charging their
customers for "dangerous conduct" while renting their equipment. No
report is made to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Nor do
they point out the clause in their lease agreement, or inform the
customer as to how that particular clause would be enforced. Of
course not. If they did, their customers would go elsewhere. At
least until the other rental companies start using their installed
GPS systems to do the same thing. After all, it appears there's
money to be made here. And since speeding is illegal anyway, who's
to complain?
With GPS technology becoming more and more
affordable, how long will it be before the Federal government makes
it mandatory equipment in all new automobiles sold, much as they
have done with seatbelts and air bags? The rationale, of course
would be safety. Missing persons and accidents could be located
quickly. Lives could be saved. Stolen cars could be recovered. And
of course, if a rental company can use the GPS system to tell if you
are speeding or not, so can the local law enforcement agencies. No
more need for traffic cops or speed cameras. Exceed the limit and
your ticket is mailed directly to your home, no fuss, no muss. Or
perhaps it is just debited directly from your checking account.
After all, there is no need for a trial, since you are obviously
guilty.
But what if you weren't driving? How would the
system know who was behind the wheel? Does it really matter? How
does Acme know you were actually driving when the car exceeded the
limit? They don't, of course. However, since you rented it, you are
legally responsible. The law enforcement community could do
something similar, modeled on the drug forfeiture laws. You weren't
necessarily speeding, but your car certainly was. So we charge your
car with the crime of exceeding the speed limit. We can't determine
if it was actually you at the wheel, so we won't assess you points
against your license, however since you, as owner, are responsible
for the conduct of your car, we will assess you the fine. Think this
can't happen? Think again. Someone will market the system, and
cash-strapped police departments, always on the look out for ways to
both do their jobs and raise cash, will jump at the chance.
Automated systems already exist, in far
greater numbers than one might suspect. In Washington D.C., six
cameras are already in place to ticket speeders. This follows on the
heels of an earlier success with cameras at intersections to catch
people who run red lights. Such systems are becoming more and more
popular, since they never sleep, are never distracted, and are
proven revenue generators. Estimates are that the speeding cameras
will generate an additional 80,000 speeding tickets each month once
it becomes fully operational. Tests of the units at 125 sites
resulted in an average of 144 speeders per hour being ticketed.
Red light enforcement cameras in particular
are big money makers. The District’s cameras are maintained via a
contract with Lockheed Martin IMS, which designed and operates the
systems, and shares in the "take". Lockheed expects to net over $44
million dollars just on the red light cameras alone between 1999 and
2004; the district’s cut is expected to be more than $117 million
during the same period. So far, the cameras have resulted in over
230,000 paid red-light violations since the cameras were installed,
netting the District more than $12 million.
In Montgomery County, Maryland such cameras
are operated and maintained by Electronic Data Systems, Inc.
Pictures taken by the system are reviewed and citations are signed
off by the Montgomery County Police Department. EDS sends the
violation notice directly to the vehicle's owner. Violators are
fined $75.00. The photo violation carries no points and insurance
companies cannot consider the ticket for insurance rates. Such a
deal! It's better to get caught by the camera than by a physical
policeman! The Police department gets its money, EDS gets part of
the take, and the citizen gets caught and penalized for committing
the crime, but doesn't have to worry about points or insurance
problems, so they are happy. Everyone "wins".
Of course, the potential for abuse is high as
well. Simply decrease the amount of time the light stays yellow, and
you increase the amount of revenue generated by the cameras.
Unfortunately, this also leads to an increase in rear-end collisions
at stop lights, as motorists try to avoid the fine. Remember, the
avowed purpose of putting the cameras there in the first place was
to cut down on the incidence of collisions by drivers ignoring the
stop light. This triggered a Congressional investigation by
Congressman Dick Armey (R-Texas) into whether yellow light duration
has been deliberately cut in order to maximize "profits" at
intersections equipped with red light enforcement cameras and if
some sort of federal standards need to be established as a result.
Other, more ominous surveillance vehicles are
in the works. Tampa, Florida recently installed a set of 36
high-tech security cameras to "patrol" its nightlife district. The
cameras do more than just send pictures back to a monitoring site
for visual surveillance. They directly feed into a software program
that matches each face scanned against a database of mug shots of
people with outstanding arrest warrants, using "face-mapping"
technology. Tampa is the first American city to install such a
system along public streets. It is not to be the last. Such a system
is also under consideration in Palm Springs, Virginia Beach, and in
Colorado, to name a few locations. Colorado is also considering a
requirement to have your face "mapped" in order to obtain a driver's
license, to facilitate scanning by such equipment. Face-recognition
technology is considered a powerful tool to assist in maximizing
public safety. It can be a powerful tool in the hands of a police
state as well.
All in all, it appears that your privacy is a
thing of the past. Many may well say, so what? All these systems are
intended to catch law-breakers and make life safer for me. Why
should I care?
Knowledge is power. And absolute power
corrupts absolutely. Consider for a moment, how you would fight
something of this sort in court. How do you face your accuser? Where
is the presumption of innocence? And do you really want your every
move to be traceable? How could a corrupt government (federal,
state, or local) manipulate such a system for their benefit, and
what could you as an average citizen do about it? And don't think it
couldn't happen here. Anyone remember Billy Dale and the White House
Travel Office?
High-level government conspiracies aren't the
only problem. What about blackmail by unscrupulous lower-level
functionaries with access to surveillance data. How about hackers or
other unauthorized users (rival political parties perhaps?) getting
their hands on such information. Is that you there, chatting with
that known prostitute or drug dealer? Were you soliciting him or
her, trying to make a deal, or just innocently asking directions?
Who can tell from the tape? What do you suppose your spouse would
think? Your boss? Your constituents?
We are putting together the pieces of a
potential police state bigger, more obtrusive, and more efficient
than anything ever seen before on the face of the planet. 1984 is
here. Big Brother is watching.
Ben Franklin once said that he who gives up a
little freedom for the sake of security deserves neither. If we
ensconce such a system, piece by piece, in the hopes of making
ourselves a little safer, we may one day discover that safety to be
an illusion. And that in order to obtain that illusion, we have
voluntarily given up that which is most precious to us, that for
which generations of our forefather's have fought, bled, and died --
our freedom.
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