The Fourth Amendment Battle Against the Creeping Shadow of Warrantless Mass Surveillance
How City-Wide Facial Recognition and License Plate Tracking Threaten Oklahoma’s Freedoms
How City-Wide Facial Recognition and License Plate Tracking Threaten Oklahoma’s Freedoms
In our great state of Oklahoma citizens have long cherished the principles of limited government and personal liberty. Yet, an ever growing menace looms in our cities: the unchecked expansion of surveillance technologies that erode our constitutional rights while burdening taxpayers with bloated public spending. Imagine driving through Oklahoma City, your every move cataloged by cameras that scan your face and license plate, piecing together a digital dossier of your daily life without a shred of suspicion or judicial oversight. This is no dystopian fantasy; it is the reality of combined facial recognition technology (FRT) and automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) systems deployed city-wide, and . . . it’s happening today.
These tools raise profound questions about violations of the Fourth Amendment, which safeguards Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures by requiring warrants based on probable cause for most government intrusions. Using an ALPR database the OKC police can now match up your face with your automobile license plate, and, can then remotely disable your vehicle using automated systems built into newer vehicles.
At the Sooner Sentinel, we stand firm for limited government and low taxes, viewing such pervasive surveillance as a classic case of bureaucratic overreach. These systems not only trample on privacy but also divert…