Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Theres No Privacy Interest in Public

    By
    Larry Seltzer
    -
    April 3, 2006
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      I get burned up when I see public surveillance cameras referred to with the term “Big Brother” as in this news story.

      Referring to cameras such as those described in the article in this way trivializes actual totalitarianism. I dont buy every factual claim in the story, but its clear that such cameras can do a lot of good, and they violate nobodys rights.

      Theres an important characteristic of these cameras when theyre done right: They only monitor public places, such as a street or a park. Yes, its possible to make cameras that observe private places, but thats not whats usually done, and its not what the whole idea is.

      1984, on the other hand, describes a society in which the observation is constant and ever-present. On the street, at work, in your bedroom, wherever you may go, Big Brother was watching.

      Theres a really important difference here blithely ignored by those who abuse the image of Big Brother.

      If you find a public surveillance camera objectionable, ask yourself this: Would you object to having a police officer standing in the same spot, just looking at the scene?

      The way I see it, at any one point in time they are exactly the same thing.

      I want you all to tell me: What right of yours is being violated by being observed in public by a camera?

      If you do object to having a police office there then at least youre consistent, but your position is probably a radical one not shared by most law-abiding citizens.

      I have no doubt that the residents of Lenox Avenue in East Orange, N.J., just a couple of towns away from where I live, wish there were police on their street 24 hours a day, and it wouldnt bother me in my own neighborhood.

      If you dont object to an actual police officer, then what are the differences? The camera is operating continuously, as opposed to a human, whose attention can be broken.

      Ive heard assertions that cameras dont work, that they just move the crime elsewhere. The camera system can keep a record of the video. Then theres just the whole “inhuman” thing.

      That the camera is more efficient than a human is just another example of technology improving the work of people, in this case police officers.

      Its one thing to oppose police abuse, its another to oppose police efficiency.

      Next Page: Are they effective?

      Are They Effective

      ?”>

      Do cameras just move the crime elsewhere? If they do, then so do increased police patrols, which are usually temporary.

      In one sense the question is beside the point; if crime in the area of the cameras is decreased, then their goals have been met at least to some degree.

      And if there is more crime elsewhere, then maybe that area needs cameras, too. Its not like youll need them everywhere.

      Is it bad that the police can keep archived video? There are certainly arguments why it can be good.

      It can be useful for things as innocent as traffic studies. And heres something to consider: If you were accused of a crime and could have either a video record in evidence against you or the testimony of a witness, which would you choose? I bet it mostly depends on whether youre guilty.

      This raises the question of the integrity of the video itself. Is it possible to manipulate it?

      Anyone who has seen Forrest Gump knows that its possible to modify video. Im willing to bet its possible to create a system to demonstrate integrity.

      As far as Im concerned, if the cameras are of public places, then the same images the police see should go out to whoever wants them through the Internet.

      Then third parties can maintain their own archives in order to test the police version. Storage is cheap.

      Camera opponents have also told me stories of police abusing information they get from camera surveillance, like looking for pretty women and looking up their license plates.

      This would be abusive, of course, just as it would be abusive for the police to capriciously look up a license plate observed with their own eyes.

      Like any police tool (how about guns for an example?) cameras can be abused, and there need to be administrative rules and laws to make sure police use them correctly. But the correct use of them is no more abusive than normal police work.

      I think the fact that cameras are machines rubs many people the wrong way and they react in a way that is visceral and irrational.

      Im reminded of Anthony Quinns character in Lawrence of Arabia, who destroys a camera used to take his picture because he fears that his soul has been captured. Most of the arguments I hear from camera opponents make no more sense than this.

      Law and order wont bring East Orange back to its glory days, which were actually more glorious than the Reuters article let on.

      Like the cop on every corner that the city cant afford, it can deter and punish crime and let decent law-abiding people live their lives, free to enjoy the privacy of their homes and the safety of the streets.

      This may be a dystopia to some people, but I bet the citizens of East Orange would prefer it to lawlessness.

      Security Center Editor Larry Seltzer has worked in and written about the computer industry since 1983. He can be reached at [email protected]

      Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest security news, reviews and analysis. And for insights on security coverage around the Web, take a look at eWEEK.com Security Center Editor Larry Seltzers Weblog.

      Avatar
      Larry Seltzer
      Larry Seltzer has been writing software for and English about computers ever since—,much to his own amazement—,he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983.He was one of the authors of NPL and NPL-R, fourth-generation languages for microcomputers by the now-defunct DeskTop Software Corporation. (Larry is sad to find absolutely no hits on any of these +products on Google.) His work at Desktop Software included programming the UCSD p-System, a virtual machine-based operating system with portable binaries that pre-dated Java by more than 10 years.For several years, he wrote corporate software for Mathematica Policy Research (they're still in business!) and Chase Econometrics (not so lucky) before being forcibly thrown into the consulting market. He bummed around the Philadelphia consulting and contract-programming scenes for a year or two before taking a job at NSTL (National Software Testing Labs) developing product tests and managing contract testing for the computer industry, governments and publication.In 1991 Larry moved to Massachusetts to become Technical Director of PC Week Labs (now eWeek Labs). He moved within Ziff Davis to New York in 1994 to run testing at Windows Sources. In 1995, he became Technical Director for Internet product testing at PC Magazine and stayed there till 1998.Since then, he has been writing for numerous other publications, including Fortune Small Business, Windows 2000 Magazine (now Windows and .NET Magazine), ZDNet and Sam Whitmore's Media Survey.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×