FOREWORD: SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME: SURVEILLANCE
AND PRIVACY IN AN AGE OF NATIONAL INSECURITY
Robert N. Strassfeld & Cheryl Ough
The evidence of surveillance is readily available as we make our way through our daily life. Cameras monitor our compliance with the traffic laws. Other cameras track our comings and goings on city streets, at the entrances of government buildings, banks and office buildings and in shopping malls. In Shoreditch, one of London's crime-stricken boroughs, residents may view live Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) happening right outside the front door. Supporters of the service cite crime prevention and community involvement for starting the project.
Shoreditch is only one example of the government monitoring public streets with cameras for crime prevention. In the U.S., city governments in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C, monitor citizens through surveillance cameras on street corners. But surveillance in the U.S. goes far beyond cameras. Cell phone calls, data left behind from emails, text messages, and "tweets" provide personal information for monitoring. The Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 have increased government access to realms that many people assume to be private, often with limited judicial oversight. Surveillance is not the province of the government alone . . .
42 CASE W. RES. J. INT’L L. 543 (2010).
