A New York couple, Pamela Wridt and Robert Sauve, are taking the city to court over a camera mounted outside their Brooklyn home. The camera is part of a massive surveillance system that the NYPD uses to track and profile millions of people each day.
According to Sauve, the camera can see directly into any part of their house, making them feel constantly watched. Wridt and Sauve are not alone in their concerns; many residents in their neighborhood have expressed discomfort with the cameras and don't spend as much time outside anymore.
The surveillance system at play is known as the Domain Awareness System (DAS), which collects data from both public and private sources, including video cameras, tracking technologies, biometric tools, and social media activity. The DAS feeds into a centralized network that combines this information with civil and criminal records to create digital profiles of millions of people.
Attorney Albert Cahn, who represents Wridt and Sauve in their lawsuit, argues that the NYPD's surveillance system is a model for state and local police departments across the country, which are increasingly acting like mini-NSA and CIA operations. He believes that American policing relies heavily on data collection, which can lead to a loss of constitutional rights.
The couple's lawsuit alleges that the DAS violates their First and Fourth Amendment rights to free association, expression, and privacy. They claim that the system is a "voyeuristic policing platform" that unifies multiple surveillance technologies into one centralized network, enabling authorities to monitor and track people nearly everywhere and all the time.
Wridt and Sauve are not alone in their fight against the NYPD's surveillance system. Attorneys representing them hope that this lawsuit will be the start of a wider effort to take on police surveillance networks in other cities where police departments have built up their surveillance capacity and use it for political ends.
The case highlights the lack of public knowledge about the DAS, which can breed complacency among residents. Sauve expresses concern that people are getting more comfortable with the surveillance state without realizing its full extent.
As the situation unfolds, Wridt and Sauve's fight against the NYPD's surveillance system serves as a reminder that privacy is an essential right in a democratic society, and it must be protected from encroachment by government agencies.
According to Sauve, the camera can see directly into any part of their house, making them feel constantly watched. Wridt and Sauve are not alone in their concerns; many residents in their neighborhood have expressed discomfort with the cameras and don't spend as much time outside anymore.
The surveillance system at play is known as the Domain Awareness System (DAS), which collects data from both public and private sources, including video cameras, tracking technologies, biometric tools, and social media activity. The DAS feeds into a centralized network that combines this information with civil and criminal records to create digital profiles of millions of people.
Attorney Albert Cahn, who represents Wridt and Sauve in their lawsuit, argues that the NYPD's surveillance system is a model for state and local police departments across the country, which are increasingly acting like mini-NSA and CIA operations. He believes that American policing relies heavily on data collection, which can lead to a loss of constitutional rights.
The couple's lawsuit alleges that the DAS violates their First and Fourth Amendment rights to free association, expression, and privacy. They claim that the system is a "voyeuristic policing platform" that unifies multiple surveillance technologies into one centralized network, enabling authorities to monitor and track people nearly everywhere and all the time.
Wridt and Sauve are not alone in their fight against the NYPD's surveillance system. Attorneys representing them hope that this lawsuit will be the start of a wider effort to take on police surveillance networks in other cities where police departments have built up their surveillance capacity and use it for political ends.
The case highlights the lack of public knowledge about the DAS, which can breed complacency among residents. Sauve expresses concern that people are getting more comfortable with the surveillance state without realizing its full extent.
As the situation unfolds, Wridt and Sauve's fight against the NYPD's surveillance system serves as a reminder that privacy is an essential right in a democratic society, and it must be protected from encroachment by government agencies.
It's like, what if someone sees you eating a sandwich at home? Would that be okay with the police? 
And how does this DAS system even work? Is it like a big computer program or something? Can they show me a diagram of it on YouTube? I need to understand how all this works 
!!! i think its totally understandable that pamela & robert are takin their fight to court like they dont wanna feel constantly watched all the time 
its crazy 2 me tht nypd has such a massive surveillance system in place and ppl rnt even aware of it lol. its like theyre walkin around w/ their faces up against the wall 24/7 
we gotta make sure gov agencies dont overstep their bounds & invade our privacy 
It's already creepy enough having them outside our homes, but now we're talking about a system that can track us 24/7 and build profiles on us? It's like they're watching your every move... I remember when I was younger and thought it was cool to have a "cool" camera for my phone, but this is a whole different level. 
It's like they're saying, "Hey, we know what you're doing and who you're hanging out with." And it's not just that; it's the whole concept of profiling people based on their biometric data or social media activity... it's just so invasive.
I think we need to be more mindful of our own actions and be okay with being alone sometimes. We shouldn't need cameras to make us feel safe or comfortable in our own space! 
The NYPD's Domain Awareness System is some wild stuff right there... it's like they're creating these digital profiles of us without our consent. And for what? So they can use that data to track and profile millions of people each day? It's just not right, you know? We need more transparency and accountability from our law enforcement agencies. The fact that Wridt and Sauve are taking the city to court over this camera mounted outside their Brooklyn home is a good start, but we need to keep pushing for change... 
And it's not just them, it's all of us - parents are right to be concerned about our kids' online activity being tracked and monitored. We need to stand up for what's right and make sure our government agencies aren't overstepping their bounds 
. Can you imagine if this was happening in our schools or community centers? No thank you! 
I'm so over this new "surveillance state" vibe. Can't even leave my own house without feeling like Big Brother is watching me 
That's just too much. We need to start pushing back on this kind of mass surveillance ASAP 
. Like, literally every move you make outside your house is being tracked & recorded. Can't even get some peace & quiet without feeling like Big Brother is lurking 
.
they really think the camera outside their house can see inside? It's like a movie or something... I mean, who needs that much surveillance? The system sounds super creepy too, collecting data from everywhere and combining it with all these other things... it's like a big database of everyone's lives 
. It's like, totally creepy 
. And the worst part is that police departments are copying this model left and right 
.
. I'm all for keeping people safe, but not at the cost of our freedom 
. Someone needs to give these cops a hard time over this! 