Smile: Manhattan is One Big Camera
ACLU interns this summer have been counting the proliferation of cameras taking photos - many by businesses who do so with the approval of law enforcment.
At last count in 1998, the New York Civil Liberties Union found 2,397 cameras used by a wide variety of private businesses and government agencies throughout Manhattan. This time, after canvassing less than a quarter of the borough, the interns so far have spotted more than 4,000. The preliminary total "only provides a glimpse of the magnitude of the problem," said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. "Nobody has a clue how many there really are."
But aside from sheer numbers, the NYCLU says it's concerned about the increasing use of newer, more powerful digital cameras that - unlike boxy older models - can be controlled remotely and store more images.
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