An anonymous group has been secretly taping people's conversations across New York City and publishing them on its website in protest of the National Security Agency's spying practices.
The group posted audio of the conversations on its website,
wearealwayslistening.com.
The recordings were taken in all parts of the city, from a weight bench at a gym in Union Square to a restaurant in Brooklyn.
"Eavesdropping on the population has revealed many saying, 'I'm not doing anything wrong, so who cares if the NSA tracks what I say and do?'" reads the group's website.
"Citizens don't seem to mind this monitoring, so we're hiding recorders in public places in hopes of gathering information to help win the war on terror. We've started with NYC as a pilot program, but hope to roll the initiative out all across The Homeland."
The anonymous group reached out to
Wired on Tuesday, a day before its project went live. The protesters said they'd placed dozens of recorders around New York City in the last year to eavesdrop on conversations.
"The NSA employs many third-party contractors, [and] we consider ourselves to be contractors of this nature, albeit in an unpaid and unsanctioned capacity," the group told Wired. "We can attest to the fact all people recorded are NOT actors and are not knowingly involved in the project in any way."
The group also sent wired an envelope containing a recorder without a tape and a thumb drive with this video:
Story continues below video.
By secretly recording people's conversations in New York City, the group is most likely breaking the law. A
New York state law says at least one party being recorded must provide consent.
A link on the group's website that reads "Angry?" points to a section of the ACLU's website that allows Americans to protest the Patriot Act ahead of its June 1 deadline for renewal.
Lawmakers have mixed opinions on whether or not to renew the Patriot Act, which was signed into law a month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks by President George W. Bush.
Some think the Patriot Act, part of which authorizes warrantless surveillance in the name of combating terrorism, should remain in place. Others say it raises too many privacy concerns and should be allowed to expire.
A group of Republican lawmakers is reportedly working on a plan that would
extend some of the Patriot Act's surveillance powers before it expires.
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