Surveillance Camera Players began operating in protest of the extensive use of surveillance cameras in the public sphere. This use infringes on the legal right to privacy. The group performs plays specially written or adapted for surveillance cameras.
Through their visibility and public appearance, the media coverage they are granted, and their web site, they strive to undermine the prevalent perception, whereby only one who is ”guilty” of something objects to being watched by cameras.
The group was founded in New York in 1996 in view of the increase in electronic surveillance equipment in the public sphere as part of the war the city declared against crime. Ever since, the necessity of the action has only increased, mainly in light of the post-9/11 surveillance means. Thus, the excuse of the war on crime has teamed with the war on terror which increasingly pervades the public sphere.
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