by Tom Olago
A recent report from TopTechNews states that National Security Agency surveillance program revelations have prompted state lawmakers around the United States to propose bills to curtail the powers of law enforcement to monitor and track citizens. Conservative limited government advocates and liberal privacy supporters alike have opposed the surveillance programs.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are partnering in proposing the measures. The greatest driving force behind these initiatives arose largely from the fallouts from former NSA analyst Edward Snowden’s revelations. These showed how the agency collected information on millions of Americans’ phone calls.
The bills taking shape in at least 14 states include the following proposals:-
1. Limiting the retention of images from license plate readers;
2. Requiring “urgent circumstances” to obtain mobile phone location data;
3. Increasing privacy protections for text messages;
4. Introducing a legislatively mandated ballot measure that would add electronic data to a list of property protected from unreasonable search and seizure;
5. Banning the warrantless use of a portable device that can track mobile phone movements within a mile (two kilometers), as well as the numbers of incoming and outgoing calls and text messages.
6. Using warrants to limit the use of tracking devices and surveillance cameras.
7. In relation to digital privacy, bills promoting broader protections against email surveillance have popped up recently in various states with varying results. “We need to stand up and protect our liberty,” said Republican Missouri state Sen. Rob Schaaf, author of a digital privacy bill.
TopTechNews further reports that proponents say the state’s measures will overhaul outdated digital privacy laws and help increase oversight of specific surveillance tools that law enforcement agencies have been using. Critics say these tools mirror federal surveillance technology.
Police groups, however, have expressed concern that the moves will in some cases hinder efforts to deter or solve crimes. “It would cripple law enforcement’s ability to do investigations,” said Bart Johnson, executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Oregon prosecutor Josh Marquis was quoted as saying that the legislators’ concerns are misplaced.
He said state agencies aren’t collecting the kind of metadata the NSA collects and bills curtailing the ability of local authorities to gather intelligence could do more harm than good. In any case, it would appear that after months of NSA revelations, measures have been put in place to curtail abuse. President Barack Obama last month proposed changes that would require bulk telephone data collected by the NSA to be stored outside the government to reduce the risk of abuse and put limits on the number of people who could be watched.
A recent example that has the typical ingredients of a good case study of surveillance and technology privacy has come to light in Dayton, Ohio. The Washington Post reports this in its news report “New surveillance technology can track everyone in an area for several hours at a time”.
Persistent Surveillance Systems, headed by its president, Ross McNutt, uses a model where advanced surveillance cameras, fitted to specially outfitted aircraft are flown over geographical areas being monitored. This would typically be the area of a small city, and can be monitored for up to several hours at a time. The cameras can identify the build-up of crimes by tracking movements, and pinpointing locations.
Although details like facial features or license plates cannot yet be identified, valuable intelligence that can complete crucial pieces of the puzzle in a police investigation becomes available. Already, the cameras have been flown above major public events, such as the Ohio political rally where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) named Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008, McNutt said.
McNutt hopes to win over officials in Dayton and elsewhere by emphasizing the benefits resulting from reduced crime, and adopting a privacy policy that that has rules on how long data can be kept, when images can be accessed and by whom. Fortunately, since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 the overwhelming majority of Americans support forms of increased camera surveillance – as long as privacy rights for the general public are carefully upheld in the process. Public perception around potential “Big Brother” intrusions will also need to be managed continually.
Separately, other similar initiatives across the United States keep coming to light. According to another recent report by Fox News, ‘Patrol-bots’ are now being eyed as the surveillance answer. A California start-up, Knightscope is turning out capsule-shaped robots that it says could serve as the eyes and ears of base police units.
Knightscope officials envision its K5 system playing a role in community policing. In addition to sophisticated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the K5 is equipped with analytics enabling it to detect threats to people or property and summon police.
Overall, the stage is rapidly being set for a level of surveillance that will eventually allow global government agencies to ensure that there will be no place for anyone to run to, or hide.
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/February10/103.html#j8yrExPFr3i18pfu.99
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