FC: AP: DARPA's new vehicle surveillance system draws criticism

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

PLANNED SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM RAISES EYEBROWS
A new surveillance system being developed by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency has some scientists and civil libertarians
concerned about potential civilian uses of the system. The Combat Zones
That See project is intended to use software to analyze images from
many thousands of cameras in an urban setting to identify cars, license
plates, and even passengers. The goal is to protect U.S. forces in
urban settings by spotting license plates on watch lists or discerning
suspicious behavior. Despite assurances from the Pentagon that the
technology is intended only for military uses, some observers have
expressed concern that it could be used by civilian law enforcement
agencies in a manner that intrudes on personal privacy. John Pike of
GlobalSecurity.org said, "Government would have a reasonably good idea
of where everyone is most of the time."
Washington Post, 2 July 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61389-2003Jul2.html




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