I remember a story from some years ago about one of the nordic countries experimenting with public audio surveillance as an anti-crime measure.
But they were aware of the privacy-invasion concerns, so they designed the microphones so that they would not record with sufficient fidelity to actually understand what was being said.
Instead, the system relied upon volume and voice stress analysis. It didn’t allow the authorities to eavesdrop on the content of conversations, but it did alert them if a bunch of people started shouting (fight) or screaming (accident, attack).
So: these US-style snooper programs aren’t just evil; they’re unnecessary.
