In an episode “Behind the Deep State” New American Magazine’s Alex Newman warns that the Deep State “Infrastructure” Bill contains half a billion in funding for so-called “smart cities” that will put the surveillance state on steroids.
This smart city agenda was also given bluntly by Boris Johnson on the 25thof September 2019 when addressing the general debate of the 74thSession of the General Assembly of the UN (New York 24-30 September 2019).
He said:
“And if that is true today in future there may be nowhere to hide. Smart Cities will pullulate with sensors. All joined together by The Internet of Things[Internet of Bodies]. The urban environment will be as antiseptic as a Zurich Pharmacy. But this technology could also be used to keep every citizen under round-the-clock surveillance.”
The UK has already installed this Orwellian facial recognition CCTV surveillance through Hikvision cameras. Hikvision is a Chinese state-owned company which has swamped the world with its CCTV surveillance systems. In the UK there are estimated to be at least a million Hikvision cameras in every aspect of British life: from schools to government buildings to top secret laboratories and to police institutions. No one knows exactly how many have been installed. Prof Fraser Sampson a CCTV Commissioner describes them as being like digital asbestos. Hikvision has been described as a moral polluter because its systems are also trained on an estimated million Uyghur people detained in camps in Xinjiang and its facial recognition programmed cameras are being used to filter them out of everyday society. According to Rahima Mahmut a human rights activist this means that from the time citizens walk out from their house and until they walk back every movement is recorded. Hikvision products go way beyond just watching because it has the complete interrogation system which digitises every single twitch which someone restrained makes under questioning. It is known as the “Tiger Chair” because the camera captures that stress level and it produces a report that the person is suspicious.
As I have pointed out in a past blog[1] these Hikvision cameras can be found at the entrance of a chain of supermarkets in Malta. Will they be installed in other sectors and streets too in the future?
In the U.S. various cities are pushing for this public facial recognition technology. The New Orleans City Council overturned a ban on the use of facial recognition by the police.[2]According to a report by the Independent Record [3]Montana is considering passing new regulations on the use of facial recognition. ‘Montana already uses ID.me[4]to verify the identity of those making unemployment claims. The prison department also uses a third-party facial recognition firm to track those on parole and probation.’ In California [5]the proposed legislation would make permanent the 2019 moratorium on the use of facial recognition in bodycams worn by the police. And Nebraska[6]is planning to test whole-body and facial recognition technology from far-off sensors.
How right was Thomas Sowell an American author economist and political commentator when he stated: “Freedom is unlikely to be lost all at once and openly. It is far more likely to be eroded away bit by bit amid glittering promises and expressing of noble ideals.”
From monitoring everything to central planning smart cities are a recipe for technocracy tyranny and the so called ‘Internet of Bodies.’
[1]https://simonmercieca.com/2021/11/27/are-supermarkets-in-malta-using-facial-recognition-terminals-in-their-stores/
[2]NOLA Coalition Praises Council’s Vote Allowing Facial Recognition Tech – Biz New Orleans
[3]Montana agencies: Don’t ‘handcuff’ investigations with facial recognition regulations | 406 Politics | helenair.com
[4]Simple Secure Identity Verification | ID.me
[5]The tide on face biometric bans is turning … and keeps turning | Biometric Update
[6]Nebraska wants to test body and facial scans that work from a distance (reclaimthenet.org)