Istanbul taxi cameras raise questions about government surveillance

In Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, a new initiative has been launched to put cameras inside taxis. The city's authorities say this will provide security for both drivers and passengers.

A "taksi", or taxi, in Istanbul, Turkey. Sergey Galyonkin/CC/Flickr

Since last year’s failed coup more than 60,000 people have been locked up and nearly 200,000 have been fired from their jobs, on orders from the Turkish government.

So are the new taxis with cameras – called iTaksi – about making people feel safe, or about watching them more closely?

Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.