Google’s Street Views and Privacy
Just got an email from IEntry with a great piece from one of my favorite writers there, Jason Lee Miller. He talks about the uproar over Google’s Street Views and its displaying of some things people might not want other people to see, as well as some reaction from folks on the web. “The street-level camera views have frozen moments in front of adult book stores, of sunbathing, of cats looking out windows, of urination on the street, of a man climbing security scaffolding – locked out of his apartment, we’ll assume. Because it provides a mirror of humanity, catching humans doing human things, it becomes a sort of reality art form . . . after coming face to face with itself, after seeing all the laugh lines, the crows’ feet, the scars, the blemishes, the things we try to cover with make up to create a better public face, we understand, know, and like each other better . . . That’s a nice fiction I can crawl into and love . . . But here’s what’s really going to happen: People are going to be angry and shocked, judgmental of those they see on the street doing things they think are untoward. People will be stoned, figuratively and literally, and the smart ones will learn to pay more attention to their upbringings. The guiding mantra will be ‘if you wouldn’t want your Mom to see you do it, don’t do it in public.’ Eventually, people may lose interest in that long, hard look.”
I predict a different reaction. Humans being humans, and Human Corporations being Human Corporations, there will be a rash of products invented to ensure the privacy of individuals who do not wish to be video’d being human. We live in a Tech-driven world. For every technical problem there IS a technical solution.
For instance, I’m sure some smart techie could come up with some sort of signal disrupter that could be pinned on a hat or stuck in a pocket, that would blank out any video images being caught within a certain diameter of the person equipped with one. That would allow cat burglars, nude sunbathers, peeping Toms, and other people who don’t wish to be videotaped doing whatever they’re doing to keep doing what they’re doing without worrying about pervs, police, or spies watching them.
In fact, if Google was REALLY smart, they’d invent it and sell the damn thing.
Of course, then the only way to stop cops from using the possession of one of these disrupters as a “probable cause” thing, EVERYONE would have to buy one . . .
[tags]Google Street Views, Privacy[/tags]
