When the camera lies: our surveillance society needs a dose of integrity to be reliable

We all have rights, that is without a doubt but the real question is: When should the government draw the line on watching its citizens? Sure, cameras are there to keep us safe and to ensure that nothing illegal goes on, I get that. But it seems the governement is taking omnipresence to another level (being present in all places at all times). But when is enough, enough? When  does hiding cameras inside domes of wine-dark opacity infinge upon our right to privacy? The answer is unclear, however, I believe that we should have the right to know that we are being watched. Even if crime were to decrease, it would be a smoking gun because it would be very hard to argue that the fact that crime rates went down as a result of these camera's shrouded in secrecy. The article also poses a magnificent question and that is: Who is watching these camera's and ensuring the data they collect as evidence against us is reliable? We need to know these things because, "surveillance evidence is frequently being used in legal proceedings, however, the surveillants – law enforcement, shop-keepers with a camera in their shops, people with smartphones, etc. — have control over their recordings, and if these are the only ones, the one-sided curation of the evidence undermines their integrity".

Written by Bria White, a Homeland Security Graduate Assistant for the University of the District of Columbia.



http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20150113-when-the-camera-lies-our-surveillance-society-needs-a-dose-of-integrity-to-be-reliable?page=0,1

Source of article: Author Joshua Gans; Professor of Strategic Management at University of Toronto; Steve Mann is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Toronto. This story is published courtesy of  The Conversation (under Creative Commons-Attribution/No derivatives).