Latest news with #New Yorkers
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mamdani defends lashing out at Trump, freezing rent proposal
Mamdani was pressed on Tuesday on his claim he will be Trump's 'worst nightmare' as well as his controversial plan to 'freeze' rent in New York City
Fox News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Mamdani defends lashing out at Trump, freezing rent proposal
Mamdani was pressed on Tuesday on his claim he will be Trump's 'worst nightmare' as well as his controversial plan to 'freeze' rent in New York City
CBS News
05-08-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
The way you walk can be tracked, like a fingerprint. Here's what NYC lawmakers want to do about it.
Many New Yorkers know it's sometimes faster or easier to just walk to your destination than to take a taxi or the subway. But did you know the way you walk is being monitored? And could even identify you? It has prompted a New York City Council member to propose a law that would force the city to be more transparent. In a city with nearly 200,000 street corners, there seems to be surveillance cameras on each one, documenting your every move. And now, experts say a more modern way of identifying people in New York City is becoming a growing trend -- gait recognition. "The way you walk, the motions. It's even you voice, the cadence," City Councilmember Jennifer Gutierrez said. "Behaviors about an individual, things that make you as unique as you are, are being captured, and can be used to ID you for whatever reason." While Gutierrez says that could be a good way to track down criminals, it does come with some cons, like raising privacy concerns for law-abiding citizens. "The average New Yorker is not giving permission to be surveilled, let alone, their face, their eyes, the way they walk," Gutierrez said. Gutierrez has introduced a bill that, if passed, would legally make gait patterns "personal identifying information" that would be protected, like tax records, and city agencies would have to inform people they're being recorded that way. Experts say there are gait systems that can identify people up to 165 feet away, even with their backs turned or faces covered. Some New Yorkers said they fear it's too much. "They are watching us, every day, everything we do," said Dennis Taylor of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "That's a no-no-no. That's wrong," another person said. "Definitely some guidelines should be set around it," added Chad Dookie of Williamsburg. Experts say other states, as well as the European Union, already have similar protections in place, but cyber security expert Ian Marlow says it's hard for lawmakers to keep up with changing technology. "All of these technologies start, and then they get better over time and, in my view, all of these things will be used together in order to be able to identify someone in a crowded area, and that technology is just going to continue to grow," Marlow said. CBS News New York reached out to the city and a spokesperson said it is reviewing the legislation. The NYPD, meanwhile, already uses this type of tracking system to help solve crimes. Anything it collects is exempt from Gutierrez's proposed law.
