The Maryland Transit Authority is now facing heavy criticism from advocates who say that its new plan to fight crime and other issues on buses is actually a privacy concern.
The MTA is now recording conversations between bus drivers and passengers - both with video and audio - as a means of investigating crimes, as well as instances of poor service and accidents, according to a report from the
Baltimore Sun. However, experts and lawmakers alike say this is a bridge too far where privacy is concerned.
Currently, only 10 buses have these monitoring features in place in Baltimore, but that number will grow to about 340 by next summer, the report said.
"People don't want or need to have their private conversations recorded by MTA as a condition of riding a bus," David Rocah, a staff attorney with the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the newspaper. "A significant number of people have no viable alternative to riding a bus, and they should not be forced to give up their privacy rights."
Eduard Goodman, chief privacy officer for
IDentity Theft 911, has a blog about similar concerns consumers may face.
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