UK cameras to track every car on the road
If you though the UK was already the surveillance camera capital of the world, you ain't seen nothin' yet. But the authorities have seen it all, and are about to see even more, thanks to a planned network that will combine nationwide data from thousands of roadside cameras. The new network will be able to track the movements of every single car in the UK, and will store data, including license-plate numbers, for up to two years, in order to create a massive database that will be able to track travel patterns of motorists over time. Officials defend the network as a key tool to fight crime and terrorism, and brush off concerns about privacy: "If the security services did not have access to this, we'd be negligent," one official told the Independent. Privacy issues aside, the new system won't be very effective against terrorists attacking subway systems, which, if we recall correctly, is a very real problem in the UK. However, we have no doubt that the authorities are already addressing that issue as well, no doubt with another network of cameras in and around every tube station.
