The Push for Police Body Cameras Shows Privacy Concerns Are Transient

While privacy advocates once decried police body cameras as an undue encroachment on civil liberties, a growing chorus of voices from the left and right are calling for widespread deployment of this technology to promote transparency and accountability. This sharp reversal should serve as a reminder to policymakers that kneejerk privacy concerns about new technologies are often inflated and ephemeral. The introductions of many new technologies are accompanied by rising fears about privacy, but these concerns often fade away over time as the public benefits of adopting the technology become clearer.