The first CCTV (closedcircuit television) cameras appeared in Britain in 1953, and by the 1960s there were already a few cameras in major streets in London. Today, there are more than four million CCTV cameras across the country.
That's one camera for every fourteen people. The cameras are there to film dangerous or illegal behaviour. With new software, they can recognise the faces of known criminals, and a new kind of CCTV in the Netherlands can discover angry voices and warn the police of trouble. But these cameras don't just watch criminals; they watch all of us, almost all of the time. Every time we go into a shop, or use a cash machine, or travel on public transport, a camera records our actions.
The amount of surveillance (监视) in towns and cities across Britain is increasing. Some goods in shops now have RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags (标签) stuck on them. When you pick up one of these things, the RFID tag sends a radio message to a CCTV camera and the camera starts filming you. Shops say that this technology helps to catch shoplifters—but only by treating everybody as a possible criminal.
Cameras and tags are not the only ways of monitoring (监视) our actions. Every time you make or receive a call on your mobile phone, the phone company knows the number of the phone you are calling and how long the call lasts. It is even possible to work out your exact location.
And what about satellites (卫星)? Are they watching us from space? How much can they see? Anybody with a computer can download Google Earth and get satellite photos of the entire world.
Even when you are at home, you are not necessarily safe from surveillance. When you use your computer to visit websites, you are probably sending and receiving cookies without realising it. Cookies move information from your computer to the website and record which websites you visit. Modern technology is making it easier and easier to stay in touch, but it is also making it nearly impossible for us to hide.
