New Privacy Issues With Camera Enforcement

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the fun-for-the-whole-family dept

Bob Dole writes “If you get a camera ticket in the District of Columbia when you weren’t driving, you’ll not only have to finger the person who was driving, you’ll need to provide his driver’s license number as well according to a new city proposal. If the number provided doesn’t match what’s in the database, you’re back on the hook — and maybe they’ll file perjury charges too. Think they’re just bluffing? This Washington Post columnist would beg to differ. If you think, “I don’t speed or run lights so I don’t need to worry about this” — think again. A Chicago reporter looked at a video of a man who was wrongly accused of running a light. The article raises important questions: why is the city hanging on to videos of monitored intsersections for months? Why is it so willing to share it with reporters? If that’s not enough, one California driver enjoyed the double-jeopardy of getting a real ticket and a camera ticket for the exact same offense. Bad things happen when one starts down the slippery slope of camera enforcement.”