Big Brother Is Watching You Again : License Plate Scanners

[muman613]

It seems that American citizens no longer can expect any privacy unless they lock themselves in a small dark aluminum-covered room (which has been scoured for electronic bugs). Our information society has spawned the entire surveillance system which has been implemented supposedly for our safety. But these changes were made without any review of whether it was legal or moral.

Now there are police cars fitted with license scanners, and sensors mounted on bridges and over-passes on the roadways. The police can track exactly where a person is by simply keeping track of where their vehicle has traveled. I personally believe it is an additional invasion of our privacy beyond the invasion which is caused by our smart phones.

Yesterday the press was full of stories about how stores can track you based on your phones wi-fi setting. They say this information is used in order to target marketing information to customers who may have an interest in various items. As one who has separated himself from the commercial culture I must state that I have NEVER purchased a single item because I saw an advertisement for it.

What is the solution to prevent Big Brother from completely owning our information, and thus owning our lives? The solution to the wi-fi tracking is to either leave the phone at home, turn it off and  take the batteries out, or just not using these phones. As a smart-phone user I have grown accustomed to some of the apps I use and this is why I think this is such a big problem.

As to the license plate scanners I guess someone will need a way of fooling these scanners (like they do with the stop-light cameras using a blue-tinted cover for the license). But I think that collecting this information is a violation of our Constitutional rights. Doesn't the Bill of Rights clearly say that the government cannot randomly search and seize from a person without a warrant? Why can these so-called law-enforcement organizations flaunt the law so brazenly?


http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/17/aclu-decries-the-use-of-license-plate-scanner-systems/

The American Civil Liberties Union condemned police departments’ use of license plate scanners to track every movement of every vehicle in a report released Wednesday.

The report “found that not only are license plate scanners widely deployed, but few police departments place any substantial restrictions on how they can be used,” according to an ACLU press release.

Automatic license plate readers are scanners placed on road signs and bridges or in patrol cars that capture every license plate that passes them. The software then assigns time and location stamps the pictures and reads the license plate numbers to see if they match up with stolen vehicles and other crimes.

The issue, according to ACLU Staff Attorney Catherine Crump, is that “the spread of these scanners [are] creating what are, in effect, government location tracking systems recording the movements of many millions of innocent Americans in huge databases.”

According to the press release, ACLU affiliates filed 600 Freedom of Information Requests that asked federal, state and local agencies how they use the readers.

The results varied, but the press release notes that it was clear there are few restrictions on how these systems are used. “The approach in Pittsburg, CA, is typical: a police policy document there says that license plate readers can be used for ‘any routine patrol operation or criminal investigation,’ adding, ‘reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required.’”

The license plate scanning systems do help police, but the majority of information they collect is on non-crime related vehicles. In Maryland, 47 out of one million plates are flagged as “potentially associated with a stolen car or a person wanted for a serious crime,” according to the press release.

There are no regulations on how long police can keep the license plate data. The Minnesota State Partol deletes records after 48 hours but Grapevine and Milpitas do not have deletion policy.



http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/07/16/202801282/police-may-know-exactly-where-you-were-last-tuesday

[muman613]

http://www.refinery29.com/2013/07/50090/shopping-wifi-tracking

We like to believe that mostly all shopping problems can be met with a clever solution, but as Fast Company reports, there may be one shopping dilemma that perhaps we haven't been anticipating. Stalking. Yes, kind of like what you might do on your Facebook news feed. According to the report, while e-commerce sites have often been able to track shopper's habits and purchases to learn more about their customers, free-standing stores have not typically had the same capability. That's where Wi-Fi signal tracking has helped.

Make no mistake: The Wi-Fi tracking that can access you smartphone is smart. According to London-based Realeyes, technology is able to sync with cameras within the store to recognize shoppers' facial emotions or "happiness levels" while roaming the floors. Furthermore, even those customers who don't use the store's Wi-Fi system can be tracked. "If a customer’s smartphone is set to passively search for Wi-Fi networks, their movement can be tracked within a 10-foot radius, even if they don’t connect to a Wi-Fi network," the report claims.

Overall, while getting to know and understand your customers is an important part of sales, we're not sure if every shopper would be thrilled to know their every move could possibly be recorded. Should customers be explicitly alerted when any kind of tracking is in place? And, should that go for online, as well? Or, are these practices merely harmless and probably making our shopping experience a better one. To the comments with your thoughts! (Fast Company)

[IsraelForever]

I have no issue with a government computer knowing where my car is.  If I drive over there, and then over here, and then over there and the whereabouts of my car is in some computer database with 100,000,000 other cars, it just doesn't bother me.  I'm doing nothing wrong.  I'm shopping, I'm visiting, I'm taking a ride, I'm going to dinner, I'm meeting a friend, etc. and my license plate is in a database.  Who is being harmed?  I'm not being harmed.  Who is looking at this information?  Who cares where my car is?  Who cares where I am?  What can they do about it?  This is not an illegal search or seizure.   I'll live my whole life and die and no harm will come to me.  Are you afraid that Nazi's will take over?  If Nazi's do take over, then where my car was last week is really not my major concern at that point. 

The truth is this:  If this can help the police nab drug dealers, robbers, thieves, murderers, TERRORISTS, etc., then I say "bring it on!"

But everyday, normal, decent people have nothing to fear from this.  Just like they don't with regard to FISA and that database of phone calls. 

Let the debate begin!!

 

[IsraelForever]

This would be awesome except for the fact that the Osama administration has proven it will use confidential information to target conservatives like they did with the IRS scandal.

But how can their knowledge of where Rush Limbaugh's car is cause him to be more targetted than if he had no car at all?  I'm not getting this point at all. 

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

But how can their knowledge of where Rush Limbaugh's car is cause him to be more targetted than if he had no car at all?  I'm not getting this point at all.

Because if all heck breaks out and we actually stand up for ourselves, they will have the upper hand!

[IsraelForever]

Because if all heck breaks out and we actually stand up for ourselves, they will have the upper hand!

I first need to know what you mean when you say "if all heck breaks out." 

And how will knowing where Rush Limbaugh's car was yesterday make it any more dangerous for him? 

Let me ask this question:  Satellites can keep track of us anyhow.  Do you want to do away with satellites?

 

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

I first need to know what you mean when you say "if all heck breaks out." 

And how will knowing where Rush Limbaugh's car was yesterday make it any more dangerous for him? 

Let me ask this question:  Satellites can keep track of us anyhow.  Do you want to do away with satellites?

 

You never know when Hitler is going to start rounding up conservatives... Did the Holocaust not teach anyone anything. Everyone just tried to ignore what was going on in Europe in the early 1900's, look what is happening today...
And yes I don't like any of it when it's in the wrong hands! I can do with out all of it if I had to, I can read a map...

[IsraelForever]

You never know when Hitler is going to start rounding up conservatives... Did the Holocaust not teach anyone anything. Everyone just tried to ignore what was going on in Europe in the early 1900's, look what is happening today...
And yes I don't like any of it when it's in the wrong hands! I can do with out all of it if I had to, I can read a map...

Who will start rounding up conservatives?  The police?  The biggest conservatives are the police.  The Army?  Do you really think that the Army would go house to house rounding up conservatives?  Obama didn't even shut down Guantanamo! My point is that to be afraid that conservatives are going to be "rounded up" is not logical (at least to me).  The United States is not even close to Nazi Germany. 

Besides, if Nazi's take over and want to round up Conservatives, do you really think that a license plate scanner database is how they would do it? 

[IsraelForever]

I didn't say that these things should be done away with per se, I was just saying I worry about them being in the wrong hands.  Satellites is another thing that I worry about, and they can be used against Israel too.

At this point, how would you get rid of satellites?  Hasn't that horse left the barn? 

I'm VERY worried about Israel (obviously), but satellites is not my concern.  Besides, I say thank G-d for satellites -- because Israel has them to their ADVANTAGE, just as the United States has.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

Who will start rounding up conservatives?  The police?  The biggest conservatives are the police.  The Army?  Do you really think that the Army would go house to house rounding up conservatives?  Obama didn't even shut down Guantanamo! My point is that to be afraid that conservatives are going to be "rounded up" is not logical (at least to me).  The United States is not even close to Nazi Germany. 

Besides, if Nazi's take over and want to round up Conservatives, do you really think that a license plate scanner database is how they would do it?

The black Panthers, the union's, homeland security, the U.N., ect. Where do you think all the bailout money went? Hitler straight up said he wants a civilian army as big as our military. Why are they buying up all the bullets? So we don't have them!

They are doing all kinds of things! Give them an inch, they will take a mile!

[IsraelForever]

The black Panthers, the union's, homeland security, the U.N., ect. Where do you think all the bailout money went? Hitler straight up said he wants a civilian army as big as our military. Why are they buying up all the bullets? So we don't have them!

They are doing all kinds of things! Give them an inch, they will take a mile!

The black Panthers, the union's, homeland security, the U.N., ect. Where do you think all the bailout money went? Hitler straight up said he wants a civilian army as big as our military. Why are they buying up all the bullets? So we don't have them!

They are doing all kinds of things! Give them an inch, they will take a mile!

A lot of the bailout money went to the banks -- thank G-d!  I didn't want the banks to fail.  It would have wrecked havoc on this country.  As bad as the banks are and were, I'm not cutting off my nose to spite my face.  The banks have to be regulated -- no question! 

Obama/Hitler is totally ineffectual.  Obamacare is finished.  Even the unions are against it now.  They finally read it!

The Black Panthers?  How are they going to take over?  And what good will the license plate scanners do them?  They can't even read.

The unions?  How can they take over?  They couldn't even save themselves in Michigan.  They can't even take over Walmart.

I'm just trying to figure out why I should fear license plate scanning, especially when google already has all our information! 

I'm afraid of other things -- like terrorists, Islam, Iran's nuclear capability, Jew haters, Israel haters, leaks by Snowden of information that can really harm our ability to track terrorists, stupid people in the FBI who interviewed the Boston Bomber and failed to stop them, Liberals in general, open borders, Wall Street shysters, etc. 

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

A lot of the bailout money went to the banks -- thank G-d!  I didn't want the banks to fail.  It would have wrecked havoc on this country.  As bad as the banks are and were, I'm not cutting off my nose to spite my face.  The banks have to be regulated -- no question! 

Obama/Hitler is totally ineffectual.  Obamacare is finished.  Even the unions are against it now.  They finally read it!

The Black Panthers?  How are they going to take over?  And what good will the license plate scanners do them?  They can't even read.

The unions?  How can they take over?  They couldn't even save themselves in Michigan.  They can't even take over Walmart.

I'm just trying to figure out why I should fear license plate scanning, especially when google already has all our information! 

I'm afraid of other things -- like terrorists, Islam, Iran's nuclear capability, Jew haters, Israel haters, leaks by Snowden of information that can really harm our ability to track terrorists, stupid people in the FBI who interviewed the Boston Bomber and failed to stop them, Liberals in general, open borders, Wall Street shysters, etc.

Are you serious?

[muman613]

The issue is clearly whether the information is used for the correct purpose. There is no need to know the whereabouts of every citizen and we are promised the right of privacy. It is not privacy when every move you make is recorded by the government.

As the IRS scandal showed the government can use information in order to harass certain citizens. If you fit a profile as a conservative you will draw increased scrutiny. Say you drive to a neighborhood where there is drug dealing going on. It may be possible to set you up so that it appears you are buying drugs when you are just going to the corner 7/11 for a slurpie (I don't go to 7/11 anyway)....

All technology is a double-edged sword. It can be used against us just as easily as it can be used for our betterment. Those in power are the ones who decide how this surveillance state will be run. Let us say that a pro-Gun republican has a tryst with a mistress driving his car... The liberal government has records that this mans car drove to the mistresses house. So the next thing a 'leak' is made to the press that MR CONSERVATIVE is really fooling around on his wife... OK this guy is toast. But a similar liberal democrat goes and has a three-way orgy with two mistresses, is monitored by the system, but the information is NOT LEAKED to the press and this liberal democrat gets away with it.

I am surprised more people are not alarmed by this. It seems that people are fooled by the claim that it is being used to catch only 'bad guys' and if you do nothing 'wrong' you have nothing to worry about.

The real problem is that in this world there are no concrete definitions about what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'. As was pointed out early on in the WOT the word 'Terrorism' is defined by those who use it. One day Islamists are 'terrorists' the next Zionist Jew is considered a 'terrorist'. This is where the real fear should be. Without any oversight these surveillance programs will result in the suppression of free speech and ideas.

Imagine when Sharia is imposed on us... We speak badly of Islam, we are tracked, we are locked up and killed.

[Binyamin Yisrael]

But how can their knowledge of where Rush Limbaugh's car is cause him to be more targetted than if he had no car at all?  I'm not getting this point at all.

Well Barry Chamish says that the Shabak targets Right Wing Jews in Judea and Samaria and has said that they give information to the terrorists that shoot on Jewish cars. He said that was done to BZK on December 31, 2000.

[IsraelForever]

Are you serious?

Did you want the banks to fail?

[IsraelForever]

The issue is clearly whether the information is used for the correct purpose. There is no need to know the whereabouts of every citizen and we are promised the right of privacy. It is not privacy when every move you make is recorded by the government.

As the IRS scandal showed the government can use information in order to harass certain citizens. If you fit a profile as a conservative you will draw increased scrutiny. Say you drive to a neighborhood where there is drug dealing going on. It may be possible to set you up so that it appears you are buying drugs when you are just going to the corner 7/11 for a slurpie (I don't go to 7/11 anyway)....

I'm just curious as to how they would set you up as a drug dealer if you went into the 7/11 for a slurpie?  It seems to me that you're making crazy leaps of logic.  All 7/11's have video cameras.  The tape would show that I was in there buying a slurpie.  Do you think that it's so easy to set up a citizen buying a slurpie into a drug dealer?  By the way, who is going to be setting me or you, decent and law-abiding citizens, up?  Where are conservatives being set up as drug dealers based on a database?  Rush Limbaugh was caught getting too much Oxycontin.  They didn't need a license plate scanner to catch him.  I believe you're worried about something that, in and of itself, cannot be harmful to any law-abiding citizen.

[IsraelForever]

Well Barry Chamish says that the Shabak targets Right Wing Jews in Judea and Samaria and has said that they give information to the terrorists that shoot on Jewish cars. He said that was done to BZK on December 31, 2000.

A terrorist shot and killed Rabbi Kahane.  It was done without access to a U.S. government license plate scanner database.  Besides, the database doesn't tell anywhere where you WILL be.  It only shows where you were.  And guess what?  If a terrorist wants to kill Rush Limbaugh or any other conservative, they don't need, and would not use, any license plate scanner database.  This particular fear is not making sense to me, I'm sorry. 

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

Did you want the banks to fail?

Yeah, it's called capitalism... If you fail at your business, you fail! Someone else will fill the void!

[Binyamin Yisrael]

A terrorist shot and killed Rabbi Kahane.  It was done without access to a U.S. government license plate scanner database.  Besides, the database doesn't tell anywhere where you WILL be.  It only shows where you were.  And guess what?  If a terrorist wants to kill Rush Limbaugh or any other conservative, they don't need, and would not use, any license plate scanner database.  This particular fear is not making sense to me, I'm sorry.

BZK (His son) was targeted on the Route 60, the main highway running North to South in Judea and Samaria. BZK and his wife Talia were killed and the kids in the car survived. Was it a random shooting and it happened to hit Rabbi Kahane's son or was it particularly targeted at him? This happened on December 31, 2000. Rabbi Kahane was assassinated 10 yeas earlier in New York.

[IsraelForever]

Yeah, it's called capitalism... If you fail at your business, you fail! Someone else will fill the void!

If you own a donut shop and you fail, that's not the government's problem.  But if hundreds of banks fail, and it would wreak havoc on the economy, then the government should do something to prevent it -- for preservation of the economy.  I see nothing wrong with it.  That's why they did it!  And Capitalism hasn't failed here.  Saving the economy with those bailouts did not mean the end of Capitalism. 

By the way: The fact remains, due to interest, dividends and other revenue streams, the government has received more money back ($266.7 billion, according to the Treasury) than it handed out to banks under the bailout law ($245.2 billion).

[Sveta]

I don't understand. What is the point of having the police and investigations anymore. Apparently, the government has all that information. If there is a car crash, rather than waste time trying to find out who was at fault, just ask the government to release the images, since they are so apt at having every single detail of our lives!

[IsraelForever]

I don't understand. What is the point of having the police and investigations anymore. Apparently, the government has all that information. If there is a car crash, rather than waste time trying to find out who was at fault, just ask the government to release the images, since they are so apt at having every single detail of our lives!

But they don't have every single detail of our lives.  And you can get into your car and no one in the government knows where you're going.  This fear is being terribly overblown.

[Sveta]

But they don't have every single detail of our lives.  And you can get into your car and no one in the government knows where you're going.  This fear is being terribly overblown.

I was being a little sarcastic in my post. I forgot to mention.

[IsraelForever]

I was being a little sarcastic in my post. I forgot to mention.

Oops, sorry!   

[Sveta]

Oops, sorry!   

My mistake. I have to remember, just because I make it sound sarcastic in my hear while I am typing it....does not mean it will come off as sarcastic. I should have added a "wink wink" to my comment.