10 Ways the "MAN" Watches Us
1.FBI monitoring of email and electronic communications.Credit: Mozilla Foundation
The FBI implemented a system in the late 1990s known as Carnivore, which scanned emails en masse looking for keywords. It's since been replaced by even more sophisticated software.
"Carnivore uses a list of FBI-supplied keywords to sift through email (maybe everybody's email) to find suspicious references to call FBI attention to possibly nefarious conversations going on across the Internet," explained Joe B. Vaughan, Jr., author of "The Suburban Manifesto: How To Get City Hall To Do Exactly What You Want"
2.License-plate cameras at intersections
In order to crack down on drivers running red lights or committing other traffic transgressions, many municipalities have installed cameras at intersections.
The camera snaps a picture of the offending vehicle, and based on license-plate information, the photo and an accompanying traffic ticket are sent to the car’s owner.
3.Surveillance cameras in public places
In August, Detroit officials announced that the city would be operating 350 security cameras in the central business district, joining dozens of American cities that use surveillance cameras to help prevent crime.
Cameras are installed in areas that have a history of criminal activities or in areas where crowds regularly gather — down town public parks or subway stations, for example. The cameras also record the everyday activities of law-abiding citizens, many of whom are unaware they are being watched.
4.Geolocation tracking on cell phones.
GPS on a smartphone is one of life’s greatest inventions — in the palm of your hand, you can get directions from Point A to Point B, or let friends know your current location.
But that same GPS also lets law enforcement officials know where you are. The American Civil Liberties Union has requested information from 31 states for details about how law enforcement uses cell phone location data and how frequently it is gathered. The federal government has also admitted that it has the authority to track citizens using cell phone data.
5.Electronic toll collectors.
For those who frequently drive on toll roads on the East Coast, getting an E-ZPass saves both time and the need to have a cup holder filled with quarters for the commute to work. The same is true of similar systems, such as TxTag in Texas or FasTrak in California.
All of these, as well more than a dozen other systems in North America, work using radio frequency identification (RFID). The passes communicate with readers at tollbooths, and the readers both debit the passes' prepaid balances and keep a record of when and where the transaction occurred.
6. Business records
Section 215 of the Patriot Act allows the FBI and other federal law-enforcement entities to subpoena a business or person for any "tangible thing" related to an authorized terrorism investigation. The FBI can ask for bank statements, library records, medical records, business papers — any paper trail left by the person or business. Law enforcement does not have to have to show any probable cause to request the information.
7.The "Lone Wolf" provision of the Patriot Act
The government recognizes that terrorists, such as the Pakistani man who tried to blow up Times Square in 2010, do not always operate as part of a larger group, and such "Lone Wolves" are currently considered one of the top terror threats. A "Lone Wolf" provision was added to the Patriot Act in 2004 and permits the government to conduct intelligence investigations without the traditional burden of proof.
8.The "Secure Communities" initiative.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency works with state and city law enforcement to share resources on non citizens who have committed crimes. According to the ICE website, Secure Communities "uses an already-existing federal information-sharing partnership between ICE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that helps to identify criminal aliens without imposing new or additional requirements on state and local law enforcement.
9.Biometric identification
Biometric identification uses a scan of a part of the body — a fingerprint, the iris of the eye, or the voice, for example — as a verification tool. Instead of typing in a password or swiping a card to log into a computer or enter a building, you would use your body.
Many security experts believe this is the most secure type of authentication available, and governments are taking advantage of this technology. The Department of Homeland Security has developed a standard for biometric identification for visitors to the United States, and the Department of Defense is providing the Army with a toolkit to do biometric identification in the field.
10. Roving John Doe wiretaps
One of the controversial Patriot Act provisions reauthorized this past spring permits roving John Doe wiretaps, which follow a "person of interest" within a broad search warrant.
For example, instead of getting a warrant to tap into a single phone line, the roving John Doe wiretap allows law enforcement to tap any and all communication lines — cell phone, landlines, email, text messaging — a person of interest may be using.
*Thank you Tech News Daily for the list of 10.
I also believe that tagging pictures on line even on your home computer by name location is building a base for the Govt. to be able to track you and predict your movement around the world.
Anybody remember chipping their pets? Now they are chipping people!
