Today, the ACLU of MAINE testified against two bills that would allow use of different kinds of surveillance cameras on streets near you. In 2009, the Maine legislature voted unanimously to ban surveillance cameras that are mounted on traffic lights, and the Governor signed that ban into law. Last year, the legislature authorized the use of police car mounted cameras, but with some common sense restrictions. You can see what these cameras by watching this video.
We all want safer communities, but we don't have to get there by giving up our freedoms. Surveillance cameras monitor our every action, whether there's reason to believe we've committed a crime or not. Further, the images collected by these cameras are often stored in databases for indefinite amounts of time.
Often we hear people object, "Well, if you're not doing anything wrong, what do you care if you're video-taped." Now, I have nothing to hide, but that doesn't mean I want the government tracking my every move. In fact, I shut off the GPS tracking on my phone because I just don't think the stores I shop at, the religious activities I participate in, even the doctors I visit is anything anyone needs to know about - especially not the government. Hopefully the legislature will reject these new proposals and continue to stand up for Mainers' privacy.
