Post by Logan on Feb 25, 2016 7:10:27 GMT -6
Maryland senators are expected to debate a bill Thursday that would ban transit agencies from making blanket recordings of the conversations of passengers on public buses and trains.
"What they are doing is nothing short of mass surveillance," said state Sen. Robert A. Zirkin, chairman of the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee, which unanimously approved the bill last week.
The issue first came to light in the fall 2012, when the first 10 Maryland Transit Administration buses with audio recording equipment were put into service in the Baltimore region. Signs were posted alerting passengers to the open microphones.
At the time, MTA officials said the audio recording would make passengers feel safer because the recordings could be used in court cases arising from incidents on buses or disciplinary cases involving drivers.
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-senate-to-debate-audio-recording-on-buses-trains-20160224-story.html
"What they are doing is nothing short of mass surveillance," said state Sen. Robert A. Zirkin, chairman of the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee, which unanimously approved the bill last week.
The issue first came to light in the fall 2012, when the first 10 Maryland Transit Administration buses with audio recording equipment were put into service in the Baltimore region. Signs were posted alerting passengers to the open microphones.
At the time, MTA officials said the audio recording would make passengers feel safer because the recordings could be used in court cases arising from incidents on buses or disciplinary cases involving drivers.
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-senate-to-debate-audio-recording-on-buses-trains-20160224-story.html