Ways to Challenge Cameras

With police, schools and corporations rolling out more surveillance cameras, here are some ideas we have to challenge them:

• Individuals should take measures to protect their privacy (see below)
• Use the city rules/state laws against them:
  • Find out who owns the pole that the cameras are on:
    • If the pole isn't owned by the city, then ask the owner whether they gave permission to place the camera there or the city/police whether they asked the pole owner for permission. We have seen cameras come down in such a situation;
    • If it is a city pole, then use FOIA to find out:
      • who put the camera up;
      • what the process is to get things added to poles;
      • whether they followed the process.
    • Reaching out to friendly city councilors to see if they can find this information out may prove to be faster;
  • If the cameras are wired, whomever owns the pole it is on, and the wires cross public ways, insist on seeing the permits and/or raise a fuss about unpermitted work;

Personal protection measures

• Wear a wide brim hat and oversized "shield" polarized sunglasses along with a face mask. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X3QP8YD/);
• Wear anything that covers your face: head, eyes and mouth makes it nearly impossible for police to ID someone. Facial recognition has a hard time seeing through polarization and over-sized sunglasses that cover your eyebrows, making it difficult for facial recognition to map your face;
• Don't wear branded clothing or masks that have text messages on them;