What is a surveillance state? Privacy International defines it as one which _“collects information on everyone without regard to innocence or guilt” _and “deputizes the private sector by compelling access to their data”.

While this may sound dystopian, this is quickly becoming a reality right here in the United States with serious implications on our civil liberties.

Despite its portrayal as the global poster child for surveillance, China is actually on par with the USA in regard to security cameras per capita; based on data from IHS Markit, there is currently one security camera per every 4.6 and 4.1 people in the USA and China, respectively.

While China’s security camera network is primarily government-owned, the majority of security cameras in the USA are consumer-owned. Interestingly, the rapid installation of over 85 million security cameras in the USA has been fueled by partnerships between the public and private sectors, namely police agencies and data-hungry tech giants.

The proliferation of security cameras in the USA is fueled by public-private partnerships between police and Big Tech.

The most striking example of this is Amazon’s Ring, whose aggressive nationwide expansion is fueled by 900+ partnerships with police agencies in 44 states. As part of these partnerships, police actively support the installation of Ring cameras via taxpayer-funded discount programs; in exchange, they gain access to Ring’s Neighborhood Watch Portal, a tool that allows police to request video footage directly from Ring users without a warrant.

For example, in Baltimore police are offering homeowners up to $150 rebates to cover camera and installation costs. The catch? They must share all of their video footage with police for at least two years. With police and Big Tech in control of our security camera infrastructure, new threats to our civil liberties are now just a “flip of a switch” away.

#cryptocurrency #privacy #data #iot #surveillance #data analysis