In this exercise we’ll look at some questions we can ask ourselves about surveillance cameras and how, in the absence of strong data protection laws for individuals, we could think about privacy for the people.
These questions are best thought of as “How to annoy your local grocery store owner?”
-
Does camera X need to be here? This one is simple. Look around. If you can see 4 cameras, there should be a good reason for all 4 to be there.
-
How far back do the cameras record? Now that storage is cheap and getting cheaper, it is easier to keep a lot of data around for a very long time. And it doesn’t have to be this way.
-
Can the number of cameras be reduced? This is different from #1 in that we assume a camera is necessary, but are 15. Ex, if you’re a gym and have a log of people entering and leaving, are cameras around the building really necessary?
-
Who owns the data? Ask someone incharge if they would give you data from the recordings. If yes, ask “Why?”. As someone with no legal authority, you really shouldn’t be able to view data. If you can, so could someone else.
Consider yelling at me about anything on Twitter.