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19 Aug, 2012

The new totalitarianism of surveillance technology – Naomi Wolf, guardian.co.uk

I then noticed, some months later, that these bizarre camera/lights had been installed not only all around Union Square but also around Washington Square Park. I posted a photo I took of them, and asked: “What is this?” Commentators who had lived in China said that they were the same camera/streetlight combinations that are mounted around public places in China. These are enabled for facial recognition technology, which allows police to watch video that is tagged to individuals, in real time. When too many people congregate, they can be dispersed and intimidated simply by the risk of being identified – before dissent can coalesce.

via The new totalitarianism of surveillance technology | Naomi Wolf | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.