If you’ve been paying any attention to the news lately you’ll have heard reports of smart phones giving away what you thought was private information. Early 2011 reports of camera phones geotagging images of school children, pictures which were then posted to web-based galleries, caused quite a stir among parents and privacy groups. There was also the early 2010 report of the Houston Police Department secretly testing an unmanned drone aircraft over a small section of Texas. This drone, very much like Insitu’s Scan Eagle for the U.S. military, was reportedly equipped with high-power cameras capable of viewing people clearly from long distances, and in their homes. What possible scenarios might domestic law enforcement departments consider using unmanned surveillance aircraft? According to HPD’s Martha Montalvo, public safety, compliance with Homeland Security and tactical operations were all potentially legitimate uses.
WHO’S WATCHING AND WHY
The world’s fighting forces have been using unmanned vehicles for years already. But what are the implications of such drones being used inside the homeland? The consensus among technorati and conspiracy theorists alike is that, at the very least, our private lives are no longer private. The average citizen is vulnerable to scrutiny more like a corporation, less like men and women with personal rights. Technology is merely the tool though, it is the motive behind its use which may or may not be sinister. For every potential psychotic hacker who wastes his days stalking children via geotagged image galleries, there are hundreds of families whose pictures may never be viewed by anyone other than the invitees. Privacy advocates should consult their smart phone’s manual for steps to disable geotagging. As for your government spying on you, this is nothing new.
