The state of New York has privately asked surveillance companies to pitch a vast camera system that would scan and identify people who drive in and out of New York City, according to a December memo obtained by Vocativ. The call for private companies to submit plans is part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s major infrastructure package, which he introduced in October.
Though much of the related proposals would be indisputably welcome to most New Yorkers — renovating airports and improving public transportation — a little-noticed detail included installing cameras to “test emerging facial recognition software and equipment.” “This is a highly advanced system they’re asking for,” said Clare Garvie, a law fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Privacy and Technology, and who specializes in police use of face recognition technologies. READ MORE
