tech
John Oliver on Police Surveillance: ‘Big Brother on steroids’
The host tore into ‘wildly invasive’ cameras, microphones and license plate readers that police use to track Americans
TL;DR
- Local police forces increasingly use surveillance technology due to falling prices and federal funding.
- Tools include cameras, license plate readers, microphones (like ShotSpotter), and cell-site simulators.
- These technologies are used for 'predictive policing,' combining data to track individuals.
- Concerns include invasive tracking, false alarms, and disproportionate use in communities of color.
- Software like Fusus allows police to easily access footage from private cameras.
- ShotSpotter systems can mistake common noises for gunfire, leading to potential overreactions.
- License plate readers track every vehicle, not just stolen ones, creating movement logs.
- Cell site simulators (Stingrays) collect data from phones, including calls and texts.
- Predictive policing can compile lists of 'potential offenders' based on potentially biased data.
- Oliver concluded that the public conversation about these surveillance tools often happens too late.