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>I keep reading about blimps watching us 24/7, license plate readers tracking everywhere we drive. It's almost as if this "surveillance state" you all imagine

>I keep reading about blimps watching us 24/7, license plate readers tracking everywhere we drive. It's almost as if this "surveillance state" you all imagine doesn't exist. There are checks in place and warrants needed for this. If you see something illegal online you could report it to the FBI perhaps?

brigandish 7y ago
The ability to see something and stop it is not the same as the desire to see something and stop it.
- kennywinker 7y ago
  The ability to collect something and the ability to see it are two different things. Just because data about this guy may have been snarfed up, doesn’t mean anybody looked at it.
Alex3917 7y ago
> It's almost as if this "surveillance state" you all imagine doesn't exist. How do you imagine that billing for EZ Pass and license plate scanners works?
- NikkiA 7y ago
  EZ-Pass is RFID based, it doesn't use license plate scanning but a transponder you have to have in your car (typically it's affixed to the windshield, but it doesn't need be)
  - kwesthaus 7y ago
    I've spoken to the Chef Technology Manager and the Chief Executive Director of E-ZPass for some research I did with their system [0] and confirmed that it is not 100% reliant solely on the transponders, and that they do use license plate readers as well. [0] https://github.com/kwesthaus/ez-sniff https://github.com/kwesthaus/ez-sniff
  - bmurphy1976 7y ago
    How do you think they bill you when you drive through the system without a transponder?
api 7y ago
The data is gathered but it's so much that any signal is drowned in noise. You either spend billions investigating hundreds of thousands of idiots spewing shit on the Internet or you miss "that one." There is no middle really.
- bmurphy1976 7y ago
  Yes there is a middle. It's a cultural problem. Too many people get away with it. By spending some money and cracking down on it it would remind people this isn't acceptable behavior and change the culture. Once the culture is changed it becomes easier to focus on the real threats. We don't need to throw everybody in jail, but a fine here and there (ala speeding tickets) would go a long way to reminding people that this kind of behavior is wrong.
faissaloo 7y ago
The surveillance state very much exists, it's just extremely incompetent.

brigandish 7y ago

The ability to see something and stop it is not the same as the desire to see something and stop it.

kennywinker 7y ago
The ability to collect something and the ability to see it are two different things. Just because data about this guy may have been snarfed up, doesn’t mean anybody looked at it.

Alex3917 7y ago

> It's almost as if this "surveillance state" you all imagine doesn't exist. How do you imagine that billing for EZ Pass and license plate scanners works?

NikkiA 7y ago
EZ-Pass is RFID based, it doesn't use license plate scanning but a transponder you have to have in your car (typically it's affixed to the windshield, but it doesn't need be)
- kwesthaus 7y ago
  I've spoken to the Chef Technology Manager and the Chief Executive Director of E-ZPass for some research I did with their system [0] and confirmed that it is not 100% reliant solely on the transponders, and that they do use license plate readers as well. [0] https://github.com/kwesthaus/ez-sniff https://github.com/kwesthaus/ez-sniff
- bmurphy1976 7y ago
  How do you think they bill you when you drive through the system without a transponder?

api 7y ago

The data is gathered but it's so much that any signal is drowned in noise. You either spend billions investigating hundreds of thousands of idiots spewing shit on the Internet or you miss "that one." There is no middle really.

bmurphy1976 7y ago
Yes there is a middle. It's a cultural problem. Too many people get away with it. By spending some money and cracking down on it it would remind people this isn't acceptable behavior and change the culture. Once the culture is changed it becomes easier to focus on the real threats. We don't need to throw everybody in jail, but a fine here and there (ala speeding tickets) would go a long way to reminding people that this kind of behavior is wrong.

faissaloo 7y ago

The surveillance state very much exists, it's just extremely incompetent.