Friday, July 12, 2013

Citi Bike - The Latest NYC Surveillance

By John Powers

Citi Bike Mini Spy Cameras Secret Hidden Surveillance
The latest in NYC surveillance is revealed

It comes as no surprise that Citi Bike is watching you and everything around your bike via hidden spy cameras.

After narrowly avoiding being hit by a taxi cab the bike I was riding fell and the "Citi Bike" facade on the front shattered. Underneath were two tiny video cameras. One camera appears to point up at the rider while the second faces outward and grabs continuous video of everything the bike passes. The cameras are very small and appear to be made by Sony (see image). They are similar in appearance to those used on hidden camera TV shows, but this is the first time that live streaming motion video surveillance has been used in a major metropolitan city. This extensive program is another way that New York City is keeping track of its residents and events.


This mini hidden surveillance camera has a point of view angle of every corner of Manhattan at nearly any time of day. When reached for comment, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was quoted as saying, "You wait, in five years the technology is getting better. There will be cameras everyplace whether you like it or not." Mayor Bloomberg has come under fire in recent years for being the driving force behind the ban of cigarettes in public spaces, the attempted soda ban, and the controversial drone program currently being implemented in New York City by the NYPD. 

Citi Bike Hidden Mini Spy Cameras
A look at Citi Bike features, including "Spy Cameras"
Citizens are told not to worry about these cameras. Their purpose is not to spy on people or to make petty arrests for marijuana usage. New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly released this statement on the Citi Bike surveillance cameras:
"They (the cameras) will not hurt you or get you in any trouble of any kind. The only people who should worry are the ones on the corner dealing drugs and committing crimes. The vigilance of New York City is unmatched and the technology that it takes to bring criminals to justice has just caught up."

Regardless of intent, people have a right to know that these cameras exist and are being used to capture everything the bike passes and record images of every person who sits on a Citi Bike. With this in mind, I have decided to go back to my old Trek bike. It might get stolen, but at least I'm the only one who rides it.

- John Powers



© 2013 - All rights reserved






35 comments:

  1. I guess drug dealers ride citi bikes?

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  2. Pics or it didn't happen. You would think a reporter breaking a story like this would at least take some phone cam pics.

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  3. Wow, this reporter got Bloomberg to comment just like that? Oh, wait, the quote is from March 22 (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bloomberg-new-york-eventually-surveillance-city-article-1.1296103#ixzz2OTFZsIjc)... And I can't find any source for the Kelly quote except this post. And no pics, nothing corroborating. Seems pretty fishy until we get some actual evidence (which can't be that hard).

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  4. this is suspicious, considering no one else on the internet corroborates this story

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  5. why cant i find this story anywhere else online?

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  6. Proof please. Releasing stories like this without evidence is socially irresponsible.

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  7. Fake and gay. You should be ashamed of yourself for posting this. Provide concrete proof or shut up.

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  8. I believe this is meant to be satire folks.

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  9. fuck these bikes, citibank,and bloomberg

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  10. the cameras are there to make sure the riders are not drinking soda while pedaling. duh.

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  11. I used to build these bikes. There are no cameras, only a passive gps unit. The police would need a subpoena to find out whee an account had gone, and even then the only information Citibike could provide is that a given bike # was taken out after a given key was swiped. Given that Citibike's software is bad at best, I doubt they'd even be able to reliably piece that together.

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    Replies
    1. Uh subpoenas are sooooo last century. NSA, FBI, NYPD, and now CitiBikes don't need no stinkin'subpoenas.

      Come out to protest the unconstitutional blanket surveillance of Americans by the NSA. Don't forget to bring your 1984 themed signs too.

      https://www.facebook.com/events/508963769175983/

      Delete
    2. "There are no cameras, only a passive gps unit."

      There is NO SUCH THING as a 'passive' GPS unit. *ALL* GPS systems require *ACTIVE* electronics (it's a multi-channel software based radio after all), and would also require a cellular modem to relay data back home. This would be cost prohibitive, and ineffectual, as GPS position quality suffers greatly in urban environments.

      Delete
  12. if there were really cameras they would have caught the guy n brooklyn who stole one and repainted it black and it riding it around all day

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  13. Um. Since the author's avatar, right here on this page, shows him doing standup comedy, perhaps rather than suspicion, laughter is in order. Doesn't this strike anyone else as satire?

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  14. That is funny. But not true in the least.

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  15. Not true, but funny. People love to be paranoid

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