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Comment by dealuromanet | Hacker News Reader

What do you mean they do nothing? They have a redundant microphone array that can track sound with high precision and a camera that can be used to automatically issue fines. Just point the hardware at the people walking about or congregating and see who is saying things The Cabinet doesn't like to hear. Or maybe even who isn't saying enough of what the Cabinet wants to hear. Why get rid of a perfectly functioning and deployed surveillance apparatus?

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You realize someone would actually need to repurpose them to do such things, operation which would cost money and technical know how, right? They don't come with those capabilities out of the box.

It's just such a weird argument that you're making. It's like saying that once roads disappear all the speed cameras are going to be repurposed to take pictures of you walking about to match facial data or something. Technically possible I suppose, but given how these things work it might as well be sci-fi. Government would have to scrap the entire system and buy new devices that do what you suggest, and that's where the whole idea will fail.

this thinking stems from different political environment.

In EU we still have some power over politicians. US with its cemented dual party is basically a fasade of democracy. Thats why US people are so anti government.

Everything is always set in us vs them context.

Lets hope this trend will not affect eu countries too much.

Your position is that there is less unchecked power overreach in Europe? The famous home of the 'nanny state'?

Of course. That's my position as well. The difference is that in EU the "nanny state overreach" is usually what people actual want and has large democratic support. In US it's like the country shouts super loud about how free everyone is and then you have the real unchecked overreach in every single corner of the government and law enforcement. So yes, of course there's less unchecked overreach in EU(not in Europe).

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