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Watch This Space: Civil Liberties, Concept Wars and the Future of the Urban Fortress

On 20 September 2001 the founder and CEO of a New Jersey-based face-recognition technology company called Visionics testified before a special government committee appointed by the secretary of transportation. Joseph Atick's message to the committee was simple: his company's face recognition equipment could dramatically improve security in US airports and embassies. The science of biometrics, a method of identifying people by scanning unique physical characteristics like facial structures and retinal patterns, could, claimed Atick, be deployed as part of a comprehensive national surveillance plan that he called Operation Noble Shield. According to this plan the Office of Homeland Security might take the lead and liaise with local police forces to install cameras linked to a web-based biometric network throughout American cities. In order to protect America from further terrorist acts, Atick claimed, “We need to create an invisible fence, an invisible shield.” Members of the committee liked his ideas and seemed ready to endorse his recommendations.