Big Brother is Watching You in Chicago

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Big Brother is Watching You in Chicago

ACLU: Chicago Cameras Are Excessive, Invasive

Huffington Post

The American Civil Liberties Union released a scathing report Tuesday that calls on the city of Chicago to halt the expansion of its massive surveillance camera network.

Citing privacy issues, First Amendment concerns and a lack of regulation, the ACLU says Chicagoans are among the most-watched citizens in the country....

[Full Article]

In Report, ACLU Claims Chicago's Surveillance Cameras Violate Privacy

NPR

Chicago has more than 10,000 public and private surveillance cameras throughout the city. According to the AFP, 1,250 of them are so powerful, they have the ability to zoom in and read the text of a book. That makes Chicago's network the most "extensive and integrated" in the country.

Now, the system is under scrutiny from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which says the cameras violate a "key aspect of the fundamental American right to be left alone."

Today, the ACLU released a 38-page report, in which they write:

Each of us then will wonder whether the government is watching and recording us when we walk into a psychiatrist's office, a reproductive health care center, a political meeting, a theater performance, or a book store. While the dystopia described by George Orwell in "1984" has not yet been realized, Chicago's current 10,000 surveillance cameras are a significant step in this direction. And a camera "on every corner" would be an even greater step...

[Full Article]

Chicago's high-tech cameras spark privacy fears

AFP

CHICAGO — A vast network of high-tech surveillance cameras that allows Chicago police to zoom in on a crime in progress and track suspects across the city is raising privacy concerns.

Chicago's path to becoming the most-watched US city began in 2003 when police began installing cameras with flashing blue lights at high-crime intersections.

The city has now linked more than 10,000 public and privately owned surveillance cameras in a system dubbed Operation Virtual Shield, according to a report published Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

At least 1,250 of them are powerful enough to zoom in and read the text of a book.

The sophisticated system is also capable of automatically tracking people and vehicles out of the range of one camera and into another and searching for images of interest like an unattended package or a particular license plate.

"Given Chicago's history of unlawful political surveillance, including the notorious 'Red Squad,' it is critical that appropriate controls be put in place to rein in these powerful and pervasive surveillance cameras now available to law enforcement throughout the City," said Harvey Grossman, legal director of the ACLU of Illinois...