Online Extra: Surveillance Society: The Experts Speak

BW asked top names in the security and privacy fields about how much monitoring is necessary and what can be done to prevent abuses

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August 8, 2005 at 4:00 AM UTC

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The continued threat of terrorism guarantees that the U.S. will be adopting ever more sophisticated surveillance technologies -- from smart cameras to iris identification -- to combat the elusive enemy. Market research firm Frost & Sullivan predicts that biometrics will become a healthy $4.7 billion industry in 2009, up from just $675 million in 2003, and video surveillance software will reach $642 million in sales from a mere $147 million in 2004.

But how will those technologies change our free society? BusinessWeek correspondent Catherine Yang spoke to many privacy and security experts on the dangers of a surveillance society and potential solutions. Here are edited excerpts from those conversations.