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FBI Releases Document Labeling Photographers as Potential Terrorists

14 points by salimmadjd 14y ago

codex 14y ago
This article is from a site with a clear agenda rooted in identity politics. I would not treat it as unbiased. Personally, I think that photography is essentially surveillance, which should be considered a potential threat. In this respect the report is accurate. The key word is potential. The FBI needs to catalog all potential threats, but not all of them are equal. As in most all of life, discretion is needed to properly weigh the threat of an activity in any particular situation.
tptacek 14y ago
Redditworthy. (1) No it doesn't; it says terrorists use photography, not that all photographers are terrorists. The basic logical error here is obvious. (2) Photography is one of a whole bunch of "suspicious activity" markers the FBI is publishing, including "materials acquisition" and "flying small aircraft around cities". (3) The FBI alert is factually accurate (if useless): terrorism operations (and criminal efforts of all sorts) do in fact involve detailed photographic documentation of targets. I hope nobody on HN disputes the fact that local law enforcement and security personnel have a problem jumping the gun and denying people their rights to document public spaces photographically. But this memo wasn't an effort by the FBI to "label photographers as terrorists". This post sucks oxygen out of the room, not to mention the fact that it's not germane to HN at all, and I've flagged it.
- tzs 14y ago
  > The basic logical error here is obvious It's too bad that having at least a qualitative understanding of Bayes' Theorem and Bayesian inference is not a requirement for graduation from high school. That would make it a lot easier for the general public to spot those logical errors.
neumann_alfred 14y ago
Wow. I wonder what this tells us about people who are dreaming of 24/7 video surveillance of the whole planet.. ? I mean, if a photo is worth a thousand words, then surely hi-resolution video is worth a lot more. So you see...

14 points by salimmadjd 14y ago

codex 14y ago

This article is from a site with a clear agenda rooted in identity politics. I would not treat it as unbiased. Personally, I think that photography is essentially surveillance, which should be considered a potential threat. In this respect the report is accurate. The key word is potential. The FBI needs to catalog all potential threats, but not all of them are equal. As in most all of life, discretion is needed to properly weigh the threat of an activity in any particular situation.

tptacek 14y ago

Redditworthy. (1) No it doesn't; it says terrorists use photography, not that all photographers are terrorists. The basic logical error here is obvious. (2) Photography is one of a whole bunch of "suspicious activity" markers the FBI is publishing, including "materials acquisition" and "flying small aircraft around cities". (3) The FBI alert is factually accurate (if useless): terrorism operations (and criminal efforts of all sorts) do in fact involve detailed photographic documentation of targets. I hope nobody on HN disputes the fact that local law enforcement and security personnel have a problem jumping the gun and denying people their rights to document public spaces photographically. But this memo wasn't an effort by the FBI to "label photographers as terrorists". This post sucks oxygen out of the room, not to mention the fact that it's not germane to HN at all, and I've flagged it.

tzs 14y ago
> The basic logical error here is obvious It's too bad that having at least a qualitative understanding of Bayes' Theorem and Bayesian inference is not a requirement for graduation from high school. That would make it a lot easier for the general public to spot those logical errors.

neumann_alfred 14y ago

Wow. I wonder what this tells us about people who are dreaming of 24/7 video surveillance of the whole planet.. ? I mean, if a photo is worth a thousand words, then surely hi-resolution video is worth a lot more. So you see...