A step in the wrong direction
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
In my internet surfing, I came across this article on Reuters.com about the potential use of an "Eye-in-the-sky drone" by Miami police.
Now I've always been one for privacy rights, and this just strikes me as a bad idea. While a police department spokesperson is quoted as saying, "Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations as an extra set of eyes", I can't help but feel that somebody, somewhere, is going to succumb to the temptation to use it for more than just that. Precedent has more than shown that abuses of power are constant; just remember Nixon's Watergate and J. Edgar Hoover's FBI!
Furthermore, I've played Half-Life 2. Anyone who's played through the game should remember some of the opening scenes as Gordon Freeman is introduced to the new society run by the Combine... and the City Scanners are a very noticeable part of that. Yes, I'm comparing to a video game, but if you've played Half-Life 2 you know how wrong this whole thing can go....
Now I've always been one for privacy rights, and this just strikes me as a bad idea. While a police department spokesperson is quoted as saying, "Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations as an extra set of eyes", I can't help but feel that somebody, somewhere, is going to succumb to the temptation to use it for more than just that. Precedent has more than shown that abuses of power are constant; just remember Nixon's Watergate and J. Edgar Hoover's FBI!
Furthermore, I've played Half-Life 2. Anyone who's played through the game should remember some of the opening scenes as Gordon Freeman is introduced to the new society run by the Combine... and the City Scanners are a very noticeable part of that. Yes, I'm comparing to a video game, but if you've played Half-Life 2 you know how wrong this whole thing can go....
posted by Burton at 1:34 AM
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