Why Baltimore’s Covert Spy Plane Program Is a Major Battleground for Privacy and Free Speech

‘A hidden camera in the sky watches people’s movements on the ground; ex-military private contractors control the cameras and run the operation to avoid government oversight. In the background, billionaire funders salivate at the possibility of plush government contracts. In the city of Baltimore, this dystopian scenario is already real life.
A private security firm, Persistent Surveillance Systems, with funding from a billionaire former hedge fund manager, has been filming and recording the people of Baltimore from the skies, using a surveillance plane with an ultra-wide-angle camera that circles the city recording the imagery to massive hard drives. The range encompasses 30 square miles simultaneously, almost a third of the city.
“Imagine Google Earth with TiVo capability,” gushes Ross McNutt, the founder of PSS.’
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