People are Watching.....You!

[Rich Riddle]

I am constantly amazed how many cameras watch us in life. On TV they showed a female who was at Wal-Mart with a criminal. They record everyone going into and out of the store. Mind you, she committed not crime; she was just with him. I do know the local Wal-Mart records every license plate as it enters and leaves. Amazing how monitored we are.

[Kev Williams]

Funny story about being watched from over 15 years ago... a local grocery store calls us and tells us our kid and some girl with him were up in their office, being charged with shoplifting. The 'girl was our daughter-in-law, his brother's wife. They took a carton of cigarettes and a VCR movie, about $50 total...

So after doing the chat with the police and store officials, the funny part was when they said to us "oh, we've seen them steal stuff lots of times. Usually candy bars or drinks from the checkout fridges, stuff like that. This time it added up to more than a few bucks worth so we thought we should do something about it".

Seriously?

Want the name of the store? ;)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

"1984" was just delayed getting here.....

[Mel Fulks]

I don't worry about it,solves a lot of serious crime. Sometimes the pics are taken by crooks ...then seized by police. And you've got to factor in that the Ten Most Wanted no longer have their pics in the post office ....so that's MORE privacy than what they used to have! I think it is less invasive to have my photo taken in public and not ever see it ,than it is to receive a pic of someone's sandwich when I'm having a good meal.

[Rich Riddle]

I suppose it does bother me that so many cameras record all the aspects of life. Privacy pretty much evaporated a while back.

[Brian Elfert]

Europe seems to be far worse about this than the USA. There are staggering statistics about how many times a day people in London are recorded by cameras.

I worked at CompUSA back in 1993 or 1994. The store when it opened had no cameras at all. Even though theft was only about $3,500 a month they decided to install cameras about six months after the store opened. Imagine any retail store not having cameras today. $3500 in theft was nothing for a retail store doing $3 million to $4 million in sales monthly.

[Chuck Wintle]

I suppose it does bother me that so many cameras record all the aspects of life. Privacy pretty much evaporated a while back.
It should bother everyone that "privacy" no longer exists. With so much surveillance there is little one can do to avoid it should one desire to. And it is worse in europe for sure. As was mentioned London has an incredible amount of cameras for every street.

[Erik Loza]

It should bother everyone that "privacy" no longer exists...

Maybe just me, but I don't care. In the privacy of your home or your own vehicle is a different story but being watched/recoreded in public or in a privately owned business does not bother me. But my daily activities are pretty boring.

Erik

[Curt Harms]

It isn't just cameras, either. I've read that U.S. (and probably other) intelligence agencies have taps at all the undersea cable terminals. I've also read that sending a pgp encrypted emails 'lights you up like a christmas tree'.

[Rich Riddle]

Then there is the volunteer spying people utilize with social media. The information people offer via that method to the world is unbelievable.

[Art Mann]

It used to be that you could retreat to the privacy of your own property. With the advent of still frame and video drones, you can't even do that any more. I'm not paranoid over the issue, but I think laws will eventually have to be passed to protect the air space close in around your house and property. Right now, it is illegal to prevent one of these invasive devices from hovering over your own back yard and capturing video of your children.


Maybe just me, but I don't care. In the privacy of your home or your own vehicle is a different story but being watched/recoreded in public or in a privately owned business does not bother me. But my daily activities are pretty boring.

Erik

[Frederick Skelly]

Like Erik, I can deal with surveillance in public. The drones Art mentions could very well become an issue. But my personal favorite intrusion is the guys from google. Curbside views of my house and street, satellite views of my back yard and property - all on the web and free to any crook, nosy passerby, etc who wants to check you out. (Yes, aerial views have been available for years. But they used to cost money to get and that in itself was a small discouragement to folks using it. Now, our dear friends at google give it away.) My neighbor's kid told me he went to google "to see what that rich guy's compound looks like behind his high fence." Probably harmless, but an intrusion nonetheless. And not a dang thing you can do about it.

[glenn bradley]

"1984" was just delayed getting here.....

No, it got hear in a slicker disguise and we have been living it more or less without being aware. :D

[Mel Fulks]

The Google thing is interesting in that there are some places that the sky view is blocked. I know of one that is an old house owned by a prominent family. Security and warning signs around perimeter ,but complete blackout on above view.

[Rich Riddle]

Mel, look it up on your local GIS.

[Mel Fulks]

Thanks ,Rich, but a couple of relatives much better with computers than I have tried to see the property and tried to find out why they can't. Been a while back ,I will get update and report.

[Walter Plummer]

I have two quick stories. I was picking up a dvd of my xrays to take to the doctor. While I was digging out my driver's license I happened to look up and it was already filling his monitor screen. I guess my copy might be fake? The second wow moment was trying to wire some money to a relative. For an identity check they start asking questions about my son and daughter that I have not mentioned at all in the process. Face it, the more "connected" we become the less privacy you can expect.

[Rich Riddle]

Walter, you second story has everything to do with Lexis Nexis....and they watch everyone, or at least collect data on everyone.

[Wayne Lomman]

All this is one of the reasons why I live in the bush. Where I am is of so little interest that you can't get here if you follow a gps, google maps is wrong, street view is useless because you can't see anything but trees, and google earth and others are low resolution and therefore a meaningless fuzz. On the other hand, I am only 18km from the nearest hamlet and 50km from the nearest city. I wouldn't trade where I live for anywhere. Cheers

[Alan Rutherford]

Don't worry so much about what Google sees - worry about what it reads. Here, for example where everyone is presumably using real names. Google knows more about you than you do, whether you posted it here or not.

Check out the new "Caught on Camera" Series on Netflix if you want to see what they're doing with cameras in England. Very intrusive, very effective. Something to think about. It's also interesting watching how the cops handle the bad guys there, although that's a different subject.

[Rich Riddle]

Alan,

Thanks for that idea of "Caught on Camera." I know some people like the idea of cameras and intrusion but if my old memory serves well, one of our founding patriots once said something similar to, "Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety."

[Mel Fulks]

Few years back a guy installed camera in the attic of a neighbor that took film of the bed room. When that was discovered all they could charge him with was the theft of electricity. Now that's a place where laws are needed. But there is a long history of public streets being used for the purpose of being seen, Easter promenades and such. Some of us remember elders who would change into better clothes to go to the grocery store; clearly they saw that as better than fearing a camera or yelling "what the hell are YOU looking at! The guy who spied on the lady reporter in her hotel
wasn't charged with much. The courts say there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place.

[Jon Nuckles]

The guy who spied on the lady reporter in her hotel
wasn't charged with much. The courts say there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place.

A google search shows that he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stalking Erin Andrews. Maybe not enough for what he did, but hardly a slap on the wrist. It looks like the charges were more substantial because he crossed state lines to stalk her, so maybe it would have been a slap on the wrist otherwise.

[Erik Loza]

A google search shows that he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stalking Erin Andrews. Maybe not enough for what he did, but hardly a slap on the wrist. It looks like the charges were more substantial because he crossed state lines to stalk her, so maybe it would have been a slap on the wrist otherwise.

I believe she also was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement in her civil case against the hotel chain and against the guy who took the video. Of course, the guy probably can't pay but the hotel chain can.

Erik

[Jim Becker]

Maybe just me, but I don't care. In the privacy of your home or your own vehicle is a different story but being watched/recorded in public or in a privately owned business does not bother me. But my daily activities are pretty boring.

Erik
I agree. For safety, crime resolution and other reasons, I don't have an issue with it, especially given that in most situations, there's full disclosure. The reason it's become more prevalent is that technologies have evolved to make it less expensive to deploy and easier to automate -- and the innovative network capabilities from firms like my employer that are required to provide transport for large scale video make it possible to actually scale to a usable level. The "smarts" allow for more focus on specific risks while allowing "non-risks" to be generally ignored.

[Rod Sheridan]

I suppose it does bother me that so many cameras record all the aspects of life. Privacy pretty much evaporated a while back.

When I was in London, the number of security cameras was beyond belief. Everywhere on the street you were in the field of view of at least one camera. It didn't matter if you were on a major road or a back lane.

Perhaps I should get some fashion sense and quit wearing plaid shirts and blue jeans? Maybe it's a plot by the fashion police and not the police............Rod.