Alleghany Times

01/02/06

Whether you're at the mall, the automated teller machine, or driving down the highway, a surveillance camera may be stationed somewhere nearby, monitoring your every move. Cameras are stationed all over the place as property and business owners, along with police and schools, attempt to deter theft, crime and other mishaps by keeping a watchful eye through a hidden lens. Following the recent extension of the U.S. Patriot Act, debates over secret phone tapping, illegal spying and trampled civil liberties have begun to emerge. Although some may say it's nothing more than Big Brother paranoia, hidden cameras are in places you might least expect. Putting cell phone cameras and pocketsize cams into the mix stirs concern from some who see it as an escalating privacy issue. Wal-Mart has cameras pointed in and outside its store. PennDOT has cameras observing traffic on the highway systems. Even homeowners are installing cameras...

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Informant: Thomas L. Knapp