From: Jonah Bossewitch <jb2410@columbia.edu>
  To  : <cpc@emoglen.law.columbia.edu>
  Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 11:14:18 -0500

Re: video cameras

Would you care if you knew that every conversation you ever had were 
being recorded and saved for posterity?  Do you disagree with the need 
for police to obtain a warrant?  Perhaps we should strike the 4th 
Amendment.  I barely see the difference between wiretapping every phone 
convesation in the country, and knowing every citizens whereabouts

If you have nothing to hide, then why should you care if your person, 
car, or house is regularly or routinely searched?

I think we can improve on articulating the problems here beyond a gut 
feeling.

The hard part of the argument, and one reason these rights seem to be 
slipping away, is that no single one of these developments is in itself 
an intolerable intrusion.  (Just as no single camera creates a 
surveillance society).  But here we have the classic "how many grains 
of sand makes a heap" question.  At some point, the situation overall 
crosses a certain threshold.  We may disagree on when that threshold 
has been crossed, but do we all agree that there is such a thing a 
certain degree of privacy, autonomy, and individuality as a basic human 
right?  (Yes, the foundations here may run deeper than the 
constitution).

/Jonah

On Feb 11, 2005, at 9:34 AM, Camden Hutchison wrote:

>
> Ok, there are tons of video cameras everywhere.  Could someone
> explain to me why I should care about this?  "You're constantly
> being recorded" is not, in and of itself, a reason to care.
>
> Most of the cameras that Steve identified on his walk to class were
> security cameras.  The purpose of the these cameras is to deter
> crime ex ante and to help in the apprehension of criminals ex post.
>  Since I am not a criminal, I don't know why I should think that
> security cameras are bad.
>
> -Camden
>
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