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Submitted by an Anonymous Coward:
https://www.wired.com/story/license-plate-readers-political-signs-bumper-stickers/
AI-powered cameras on cars and trucks have been used to capture images of political signs, individuals wearing T-shirts with text, and vehicles displaying pro-abortion bumper stickers. The data, reviewed by WIRED, shows how a tool originally designed for traffic enforcement has evolved into a system capable of monitoring 'speech' protected by the US Constitution.
[...] Another image taken on a different day by a different vehicle shows a "Steelworkers for Harris-Walz" sign stuck in the lawn in front of someone's home. A construction worker, with his face unblurred, is pictured near another Harris sign. Other photos show Trump and Biden (including "Fuck Biden") bumper stickers on the back of trucks and cars across America. One photo, taken in November 2023, shows a partially torn bumper sticker supporting the Obama-Biden lineup.
These images were generated by AI-powered cameras mounted on cars and trucks, initially designed to capture license plates, but which are now photographing political lawn signs outside private homes, individuals wearing T-shirts with text, and vehicles displaying pro-abortion bumper stickers—all while recording the precise locations of these observations.
The detailed photographs all surfaced in search results produced by DRN Data, a license-plate-recognition (LPR) company owned by Motorola Solutions. The LPR system can be used by private investigators, repossession agents, and insurance companies. However, files shared with WIRED by artist Julia Weist show that those with access to the LPR system can search for common phrases or names, such as those of politicians, and be served with photographs where the search term is present, even if it is not displayed on license plates. The research also reveals the extent to which surveillance is happening on a mass scale in the quiet streets of America, and how people's personal political views and homes can be recorded into vast databases that can be queried.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09, @05:13PM (3 children)
I modded you offtopic because your initial comment was completely so, and your complaints about same are similarly offtopic.
Say something on topic (I won't hold my breath) and I'll stop modding you offtopic*.
*This comment is offtopic too. Would some kind soul please mod it as such?
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 10, @11:41PM
It was not. You just didn't get it. You are just being an abusive asshole with your political down mods. Lucky for you there is no real karma/justice to smite your ass.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11, @06:54PM (1 child)
Hmm, too bad you don't lose modding privileges for this abuse.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday October 11, @07:01PM
See my reply here [soylentnews.org].
I am not interested in knowing who people are or where they live. My interest starts and stops at our servers.