Residents Push Back Against SMART City Technology in San Diego
This article originally appeared on Leo Hohmann’s Substack and was republished with permission.
Are you aware that many cities, even some smaller to medium-sized ones, are installing cameras, speakers and license-plate readers on street-light poles and other barely noticed but ubiquitous locations?
The outfitting of America’s cities with 5G technology, which took place largely with federal funding appropriated under the Trump administration, set the stage for our cities to be converted into “smart cities.” That’s a cleverly deceptive term for “surveillance cities,” in which no human activity takes place outside the watchful eye of Big Brother. Because these cameras, speakers, facial-recognition scanners, etc., are all connected and available for monitoring online, some have referred to 5G smart-grid technology as the “Internet of Eyes.”
Fox 5 San Diego reports that the debate over “smart surveillance streetlights” and license-plate readers in San Diego is heating up again. Residents there aren’t buying the arguments put forth by police and politicians as to why they need an internet-connected camera on ever street corner.
The San Diego Police Department’s proposal would make San Diego the largest city to use street lights with license-plate readers and cameras.