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> Just theoretically if surveillance was good enough to catch every single crime in public, would this be "worth it"? But you also have to remember that there

> Just theoretically if surveillance was good enough to catch every single crime in public, would this be "worth it"? But you also have to remember that there are good crimes and bad laws, there are bad cops and bad use of force and general abuse of power. Would you want to give them more power, give up a possibility to organize and fight against anything in public?

pmoriarty 7y ago
To add to this, information is power. When you give away information about yourself, you are also giving others power over you. This power can be abused in all sorts of ways. Furthermore, there's no guarantee that the information gathered with all of this surveillance will remain in the hands of "the good guys". In addition to abuse by corrupt or malicious police, administrators, and politicians who may legally get access to this data, the data can be leaked to or stolen by all sorts of criminals, stalkers, bullies, abusers, pedophiles, etc. Just about every week there's a new story about a massive data leak. It seems unlikely that data collected through mass surveillance will stay out of the wrong hands forever. How many parents would willingly broadcast to the world the path their child takes to school, their schedule, and photos of their kids. How many people would willingly allow live streaming of their family's bedrooms and bathrooms? All of this surveillance could potentially prevent or solve crime, but most people still have some sense of privacy left, and a concern about ways information about them and their loved ones could be misused -- even if they don't think about it deeply or very often. Unless, of course, they or people they know have been victims of harassment, stalking, identity theft, and other abuses of data collected about them. In which case they probably think about it much more.
solotronics 7y ago
Possibly if everyone started getting arrested for the 'little illegalities' we all commit daily the law would quickly change. It might even result in a more fair system, especially if everyone could look up every recording not just the government.

pmoriarty 7y ago

To add to this, information is power. When you give away information about yourself, you are also giving others power over you. This power can be abused in all sorts of ways. Furthermore, there's no guarantee that the information gathered with all of this surveillance will remain in the hands of "the good guys". In addition to abuse by corrupt or malicious police, administrators, and politicians who may legally get access to this data, the data can be leaked to or stolen by all sorts of criminals, stalkers, bullies, abusers, pedophiles, etc. Just about every week there's a new story about a massive data leak. It seems unlikely that data collected through mass surveillance will stay out of the wrong hands forever. How many parents would willingly broadcast to the world the path their child takes to school, their schedule, and photos of their kids. How many people would willingly allow live streaming of their family's bedrooms and bathrooms? All of this surveillance could potentially prevent or solve crime, but most people still have some sense of privacy left, and a concern about ways information about them and their loved ones could be misused -- even if they don't think about it deeply or very often. Unless, of course, they or people they know have been victims of harassment, stalking, identity theft, and other abuses of data collected about them. In which case they probably think about it much more.

solotronics 7y ago

Possibly if everyone started getting arrested for the 'little illegalities' we all commit daily the law would quickly change. It might even result in a more fair system, especially if everyone could look up every recording not just the government.