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Comment by henryaj | Hacker News Reader

Any idea why this is so much less acceptable to people in the US than in the UK? In the UK we've had ANPR for more than twenty years and AFAICT there's no mass controversy surrounding it. It catches people with no licence, no insurance, who are wanted in various serious crimes. I'm surprised at the difference in attitude.

(I am aware that the UK has a less-than-stellar privacy track record... but nonetheless it's curious that for this particular technology, as opposed to the Online Safety Act, there's such a difference.)

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The US has (especially recently) shown that "community aligned behavior" and "what those in power do" are very different.

The US has also shown that the probability of someone being held accountable for massive abuse of power is essentially 0. This also means that the main disincentive for abusing power (getting caught and punished in some way) is a moot point.

People generally don't object to technology being used to fine mass shooters, or terrorists, or bank robbers. They do object to the same technology being used to stalk women that Texas thinks might be trying to get an abortion, or ensure that minorities stay out of the "white neighborhoods". One of these examples is a real thing, the other is what people are (reasonably) afraid of.

I believe they've also been in the US for 20 years. However, they aren't centralized like Flock. Flock cameras also all look the same so it's more present and in people's faces. The opposition to these is really heating up right now.

>Any idea why this is so much less acceptable to people in the US than in the UK?

The US had only about a hundred years to get used to bending over and taking it from a government that doesn't really represent the people whereas the British have just shy of a thousand. So of course the US is more uppity.

I was just reading a detective novel set in Michigan..apparently in that state at least, private investigators can look up plates just by calling the Sec of State's office and giving their badge number. Seems like it wouldn't take much to get a company designated in a similar way.

It's mass surveillance that people can feel. Combined with ICE using it.

Our police overlords are not so polite.

In the UK there's severe limitations on freedom of speech, which would never be accepted in the US. The countries have very different values.

> In the UK there's severe limitations on freedom of speech

Sure, but those are just as controversial here as in the US, in a way that ANPR is a non-issue.

Because we value freedom above all else, thankfully.

That ship has sailed my friend. A man was arrested for clapping at a data center meeting. That is arguably worse "freedom of speech/freedom of expression" than most countries have. Speak ill of Israel and its over too.

[1] https://www.404media.co/clapping-is-a-first-amendment-right-...

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