

FBI Releases Document Labeling Photographers as Potential Terrorists - salimmadjd
http://www.photographyisnotacrime.com/homeland-security-and-fbi-release-document-once-again-labeling-photographers-as-potential-terrorists/

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tptacek
Redditworthy. (1) No it doesn't; it says terrorists use photography, not that
all photographers are terrorists. The basic logical error here is obvious. (2)
Photography is one of a whole bunch of "suspicious activity" markers the FBI
is publishing, including "materials acquisition" and "flying small aircraft
around cities". (3) The FBI alert is factually accurate (if useless):
terrorism operations (and criminal efforts of all sorts) do in fact involve
detailed photographic documentation of targets.

I hope nobody on HN disputes the fact that local law enforcement and security
personnel have a problem jumping the gun and denying people their rights to
document public spaces photographically. But this memo wasn't an effort by the
FBI to "label photographers as terrorists". This post sucks oxygen out of the
room, not to mention the fact that it's not germane to HN at all, and I've
flagged it.

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tzs
> The basic logical error here is obvious

It's too bad that having at least a qualitative understanding of Bayes'
Theorem and Bayesian inference is not a requirement for graduation from high
school. That would make it a lot easier for the general public to spot those
logical errors.

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codex
This article is from a site with a clear agenda rooted in identity politics. I
would not treat it as unbiased.

Personally, I think that photography is essentially surveillance, which should
be considered a potential threat. In this respect the report is accurate. The
key word is potential. The FBI needs to catalog all potential threats, but not
all of them are equal. As in most all of life, discretion is needed to
properly weigh the threat of an activity in any particular situation.

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neumann_alfred
Wow. I wonder what this tells us about people who are dreaming of 24/7 _video_
surveillance of the whole planet.. ? I mean, if a photo is worth a thousand
words, then surely hi-resolution video is worth a lot more. So you see...

