Public Camera's, Big Brother, and the problem of Privacy

Because of sci-fi books like "1984" that warn about what a "Big Brother" society would be like under totalitarianism with camera's everywhere watching everything, one would think we would not go that direction. But in many big cities around the country (and world) this is exactly what is happening - and privacy issues are arising by civil rights groups.

But with the problems in places like Philadelphia of finding witnesses willing to come forward and testify in violent crimes or the pervasiveness of lying in our culture, the mistrust of the judicial system and the fear of criminals getting away only to commit more crimes - many people are completely supportive of being watched if it means they will be safe.

So it's not just governments that are putting up and monitoring these camera's, it's private property owners and even individual citizens to protect their homes. However, sometimes security camera footage can be misued and even put on the internet to embarrass someone in order to entertain masses of people. Add to that the popularity of voyerism reality shows and on the beat cop television, parents watching their kids at school and in home 'nanny cams' and you're going to get an idea of what my book's version of our future is going to look like.

The problem of privacy is very important, and to protect the rights of individuals something has to be done. Laws have to be passed so that people know when they are being watched, and what is going to be done with that footage. The system I'm setting up allows for the security of catching people in the act and solves the privacy problem so that every person can stay out of camera range by choosing where they go and when.

In addition, I believe people are going to start cashing in more than ever - so that sites such as youtube will inspire individuals to use their system, promising a pay per click, while the ads so that more and more outrageous footage will be filmed or performed.

Here is an article about cameras in NYC:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/709fbdec-4bfe-11db-90d2-0000779e2340.html

Cameras watch for crime
Monday, September 25, 2006

The Surveillance Camera Players lead tours every Sunday pointing out the cameras that have popped up all over New York.

NEW YORK - You may think you’re alone as you sit there on a park bench scratching your nose or adjusting your pantyhose. But increasingly in today’s America, someone is watching you.

Surveillance cameras are everywhere. In parking lots, your local mall, office lobbies, city streets.

Authorities say the cameras help catch criminals and stop terrorists. Civil libertarians say they are an invasion of privacy.

Either way, consider this: Personally, do hidden cameras make you feel safer or more on edge?

“It’s taking away people’s normal lives,” says Fruilan Cruz, a janitor at the fortress-like New York Stock Exchange, where his every move is recorded by hidden cameras as he sweeps up each day. There are even cameras in the lampposts, he says — “Everywhere.”

Indeed, New York’s financial district is awash with cameras as well as police vans and security barriers, which guard a city still on edge five years after 9/11, when terrorists brought down the World Trade Center.

It’s not just New York. Chicago has spent about $5 million on a 2,000-camera system. In Washington D.C., Homeland Security officials plan to spend $9.8 million for cameras and sensors on a rail line near the Capitol.

Most of the cameras are set up not by police but by private companies protecting their property. And these private cameras often videotape more than simply a building’s entrance or lobby, civil libertarians warn. They may also cast their gaze outward to the public streets and sidewalks, to the park across the way, even into someone’s apartment.

“Right now there are no restrictions in place that prevent a private individual and a private entity from filming from its own property what goes on in whatever is within sight,” says Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “And given the technological advances, you could film for miles.”

The privacy fears are overblown, says Robert McCrie, professor of security management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

“I don’t believe the public has an expectation of privacy when they’re in public areas,” he says.

If anything, cameras will become standard in public places, he adds.

“Yes, it’s a surveillance society, but it’s got benefits for people.”