Nowhere on earth does Big Brother do such a good job as in New York. From the invention known as "The Surveillance Camera Players" it can be learned that there are approximately 6,000 cameras hanging around in the city. Among these cameras, there are ordinary webcams, but mostly there are police cameras. Nowadays, these cameras are themselves tourist attractions. Guides from The Surveillance Camera Players argue against the presence of these cameras by giving tours of the city. On the website of the club, you can find maps of the City of New York on which the positions of these cameras have been marked. Participants in the "Surveillance Camera Outdoor Walking Tours" through Manhattan and NYC are both political activists as well as Japanese tourists with cameras on their bellies. According to guide Bill Brown, who during the tour asks the participants to wave to the cameras, some webcams aren't well protected and are easy to hack. The only thing the hacker needs is the dial-up number, which most of the time can be found on the camera itself. Brown also discovered that the FBI is keeping a file on him and his tours. Up till now, the FBI has discarded his pleas to check his file.
[Originally published by the Daily Wacko on 2 April 2001. Translated from the Dutch by het Fort van Sjakoo.]
Contact the Surveillance Camera Players
By e-mail Info@notbored.org
By snail mail: SCP c/o NOT BORED! POB 1115, Stuyvesant Station, New York City 10009-9998
Return to
Return to