John Oliver on police surveillance: ‘Big Brother on steroids’
“You basically just admitted there that ‘we couldn’t do dick-all until we got them video doodads’.”Cameras are also used to identify people who are suspected of being potential criminals, in a “digital form of stop and frisk”. Unfortunately, the system often mistakes fireworks, nail guns and other loud noises for firearms. “You don’t want hyped-up cops showing up, weapons drawn, because dad finally got around to putting up the Christmas lights,” noted Oliver.Automated license plate readers (Alprs) also present similar issues.
- ▪“You basically just admitted there that ‘we couldn’t do dick-all until we got them video doodads’.”Cameras are also used to identify people who are suspected of being potential criminals, in a “digital form of stop and frisk”.
- ▪Unfortunately, the system often mistakes fireworks, nail guns and other loud noises for firearms.
- ▪“You don’t want hyped-up cops showing up, weapons drawn, because dad finally got around to putting up the Christmas lights,” noted Oliver.Automated license plate readers (Alprs) also present similar issues.
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| Original publisher | the Guardian |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/aug/03/john-oliver-police-surveillance-cameras |
| Publication time | Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:22:36 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-03T15:33:38.693Z |
| Last seen | 2026-08-03T15:33:38.693Z |
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| Cluster | 8zKNfl1FBKXa · 1 stories |
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John Oliver: ‘Now, you have to decide whether opening your nail salon is worth being a narc on passersby.’ Photograph: HBOView image in fullscreenJohn Oliver: ‘Now, you have to decide whether opening your nail salon is worth being a narc on passersby.’ Photograph: HBOJohn Oliver recapJohn OliverJohn Oliver on police surveillance: ‘Big Brother on steroids’The host tore into ‘wildly invasive’ cameras, microphones and license plate readers that police use to track AmericansGuardian staffMon 3 Aug 2026 11.22 EDTLast modified on Mon 3 Aug 2026 11.33 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleJohn Oliver discussed the tools that police are using to keep track of Americans on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight.In recent years, the use of surveillance technology has exploded among local police…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at the Guardian.
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