Welcome to the new global survelliance state. "TrapWire" and you.

http://io9.com/5933966/wikileaks-reveals-trapwire-a-government-spy-network-that-uses-ordinary-surveillance-cameras

If you've been photographed by CCTV recently, chances are that your face has now been logged into a global "anti-terrorism" network dubbed TrapWire which federal agencies can use facial recognition software and log your features and find your identity. Imagine the sheer amount of data collected from a place like Grand Central Station or even a local park or college campus. It's now highly likely that your likeness has been stored in a massive government database that the federal government can access at any time without a warrant.

If the feds want to know if you've even attended a political rally or demonstration and want to use that information against you, they now can. You can be now tracked remotely through local CCTV networks and your activities are logged and monitored.

The nightmare portrayed in films and games like A Scanner Darkly and Watch Dogs has now become reality. Your basic rights to privacy and even anonymity in a public place are now under assault unlike never before.

Part of me wants to be outraged by this invasion of privacy, blatant abuse of power and disregard for the fourth amendment etc... I've even looked into buying one of those metal Bill of Rights that set off metal detectors in airports, making sure the TSA agents know they're physically taking your rights away every time you fly.
 
...but the other part of me knows that as technology progresses, surveillance is going to become more prevalent no matter how hard you fight it, and I should just get used to Big Brother now, and live my life knowing that I've got nothing to hide, so these 'safety procedures' should just be embraced. 

pretty interesting. goverment is spying on everyone. they're probably spying on us right now.

I haven't done anything wrong, so I'm not too worried about the government spying on me.

@damnboyadvance said:

I haven't done anything wrong, so I'm not too worried about the government spying on me.

The problem is what's considered "wrong" isn't always that clear or it can change without you knowing.

@damnboyadvance said:

I haven't done anything wrong, so I'm not too worried about the government spying on me.

Are you of a darker-skinned race, or a member of a religious or political group that isn't very well-known in America? Because let me tell you, government don't care 'bout no legality when it comes to xenophobia.

Can't say I care.

Woohoo! Look ma I'm on tv.

"Yeah, turning the world into a total surveillance state out of fear sounds like a great idea."

what a world we live in

Eh, governments gotta do what they gotta do. So long as the cameras and stuff are only in public places, then I don't care.

Edit: Let me clarify a bit. If someone already has a state issued ID (like a driver's license, for example), then the government already has your picture, name, and address of file. Of course, not everyone has a state issued ID, but I don't think a list like that is really that big of a deal.

So far as public cameras, I just think that if you're in public, you should be under the assumption that anyone could be seeing anything that you're doing.

It's funny, all of these things are done in the name of saving lives...but I'd be willing to sacrifice mine if I knew that it would prevent such power from being amassed by any one organization.

@MooseyMcMan said:

Eh, governments gotta do what they gotta do. So long as the cameras and stuff are only in public places, then I don't care.

This. I don't think it's an invasion of privacy if these surveillance cameras are posted in public places (besides bathrooms, dressing rooms, and the like). Then again, there is also the threat of the government abusing its power like it always does.

@TooWalrus said:

Part of me wants to be outraged by this invasion of privacy, blatant abuse of power and disregard for the fourth amendment etc... I've even looked into buying one of those metal Bill of Rights that set off metal detectors in airports, making sure the TSA agents know they're physically taking your rights away every time you fly. ...but the other part of me knows that as technology progresses, surveillance is going to become more prevalent no matter how hard you fight it, and I should just get used to Big Brother now, and live my life knowing that I've got nothing to hide, so these 'safety procedures' should just be embraced.

I feel the exact same way, really. Also, that Bill of Rights thing is fantastic. I might just get one.

It's one step closer to total control, by the time the government has full control over the populace with curfews and a secret police you'll wonder "how did we get here?" The reason you'll ask that is because it wasn't a sudden change, but one that took a few decades...Or you know, everything resumes as normal with the exception of more muggers and rapists being caught. We'll see.

 with the exception of more muggers and rapists being caught. We'll see.

Perhaps it's because I'm a white male with fairly pro-establishment views, but I have not seen considerable evidence that the federal government has engaged in any considerable backsliding with regards to human rights outside of the mass Guantanamo imprisonment in the early aughts.

The US government has always been batshit insane... I'm just sitting here enjoying the show, they always put on a good show, whether it's the war on crack cocaine, terrorism, or whatever else.

Either way, we've reached an age where people don't really care about their privacy anymore. Privacy has become an old fashioned concern, and Facebook is the biggest proof of that, it's the new life style now. So this isn't that big of a deal.

@BraveToaster said:

@MooseyMcMan said:

Eh, governments gotta do what they gotta do. So long as the cameras and stuff are only in public places, then I don't care.

This. I don't think it's an invasion of privacy if these surveillance cameras are posted in public places (besides bathrooms, dressing rooms, and the like). Then again, there is also the threat of the government abusing its power like it always does.

Yeah... really it is no different than those damn red light picture taking capture devices...

Besides, this seems like a ploy to make it look like the USA has way more power than one would think... like the patriot act... which has yet to capture even a single terrorist... just is spreading fear to create a illusion of the government actually doing something.

Kinda like Bioware games and choice... ZING!!!!

Well hey, if the government takes me away for something stupid, that would kinda suck, but I assume people would find out about something unjust like that. Them having a/my skeleton in the closet for when they do something heinous is kind of how democracy works. So yeah, I feel alright about rolling that die. I'd feel better if I didn't have to, but it's an inevitability as technology marches forward that we begin to be tracked in more and more ways.

Call me when they'll waterboard me for littering. Then I'll have something to say.

If it can upload to trapwire, doesn't that mean it's not closed circuit? Sorry if this is a dumb question.