Electronic Surveillance: A Threat to Liberty.
In 1984, George Orwell wrote in his futurist novel, "You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized." Today, this quote holds true. Walk along a major street, look up and you will probably see cameras glaring back at you. Perhaps you will not see them, however, they are there. Electronic surveillance cameras are now being installed at street crossings, in banks, above freeways, in federal parks, and in the workplace, just to name a few. In the very near future, automatic teller machines will be able to match ones" face to his account. You as well as your actions can be recorded without prior knowledge or consent from you. Thus, infringing upon your right to privacy, and unreasonable searches and seizures.
In January 2001, ticketholders to Super Bowl XXXV held in Tampa Bay, Florida, unwitting became victims of electronic surveillance. As fans entered the stadium, police used biometric face-recognition technology to scan their faces. Unbeknown to the fans, these images were recorded and compared to a database of known police targets such as terrorists, troublemakers, and criminals. The Fourth Amendment states, "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Thus, this activity raises serious concerns about and in some way contradicts the Fourth Amendment.
Although Super Bowl XXXV was one of the first known incidents in which surveillance cameras were used to record the acts of the people in areas of public space, it was not the last. This trend rapidly began expanding across the United States, and even into foreign countries. .
According to a study by the New York Civil Liberties Union, New York residents are secretly being videotaped on public streets, housing projects, outside buildings, and even in their backyards, through the use of hidden surveillance cameras.
