4 ms·

Security Cameras Make Us Feel Safe, but Are They Worth the Invasion?

7 points by edward 4y ago

bell-cot 4y ago
Context is everything. Even PETA might not care much about your IR camera watching the rabbits eat your vegetable garden. Even creepy police might object to your high-zoom camera watching the playground of the day care center across the street from your house.
hitpointdrew 4y ago
Depends on the system (manufacture), the client (user), and why they are using cameras in the first place. I certainly don't trust Ring from Amazon that not only can a number of random Amazon employees access, but the local police, and probably every three letter government agency out there. Yeah no thanks. There are camera manufactures out there that aren't crappy. In those cases it comes down to the end user. Want to secure/monitor your front door/back door, etc. fine. Are you pointing it at your attractive neighbors bedroom window? Not cool.
teddyh 4y ago
Cameras should not make anyone feel safe. Cameras do not, by and large, deter criminals; criminals are most often people who don’t think things through or weigh any risks. Cameras could be used to investigate and catch criminals after the crime has happened, but by then it’s both too late to prevent anything, and also police mostly don’t look at footage, or even ask to get it. Cameras are wanted by police to solve high-profile crimes, and, I’m assuming, by secretive agencies to do whatever mysterious deeds they do. But cameras mostly are no help whatsoever to anyone having them, or to the public at large.
- autoexec 4y ago
  > police mostly don’t look at footage, or even ask to get it. unless you have a ring camera, in which case police might not bother going after criminals but they are still very interested in your footage and can take it without even asking. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/07/ring-reveals-they-give-videos-police-without-user-consent-or-warrant https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/07/ring-reveals-they-give...
  - teddyh 4y ago
    I’d guess that this is exactly because the police don’t have to ask for the footage. I imagine that the police like to virtually skulk around like this whenever they can: It’s risk-free, and it feels productive, and if something happens they can just choose to ignore it if they feel like it, since nobody can see them ignore it.
- brokenmachine 4y ago
  A camera certainly helped me when someone sideswiped my car, then drove off and after being chased down claimed the big scratch along the side of their car was, "already there". But I agree in general with what you wrote.
bananabiscuit 4y ago
I’m not really a fan of surveillance, but where I live there is currently a decreasing amount of active persecution of crime and surveillance cameras are picking up the slack and are probably the main reason increasingly brazen criminals are getting identified and caught.
metadat 4y ago
Alternatively: https://archive.ph/bkJIM https://archive.ph/bkJIM
lost_tourist 4y ago
All mine are local going to local drives with nightly encrypted backups to the cloud so it's fine. Although I rely more on my motion/door/window sensors and 12 gauge to be safe.

7 points by edward 4y ago

Context is everything. Even PETA might not care much about your IR camera watching the rabbits eat your vegetable garden. Even creepy police might object to your high-zoom camera watching the playground of the day care center across the street from your house.

hitpointdrew 4y ago

Depends on the system (manufacture), the client (user), and why they are using cameras in the first place. I certainly don't trust Ring from Amazon that not only can a number of random Amazon employees access, but the local police, and probably every three letter government agency out there. Yeah no thanks. There are camera manufactures out there that aren't crappy. In those cases it comes down to the end user. Want to secure/monitor your front door/back door, etc. fine. Are you pointing it at your attractive neighbors bedroom window? Not cool.

teddyh 4y ago

Cameras should not make anyone feel safe. Cameras do not, by and large, deter criminals; criminals are most often people who don’t think things through or weigh any risks. Cameras could be used to investigate and catch criminals after the crime has happened, but by then it’s both too late to prevent anything, and also police mostly don’t look at footage, or even ask to get it. Cameras are wanted by police to solve high-profile crimes, and, I’m assuming, by secretive agencies to do whatever mysterious deeds they do. But cameras mostly are no help whatsoever to anyone having them, or to the public at large.

autoexec 4y ago
> police mostly don’t look at footage, or even ask to get it. unless you have a ring camera, in which case police might not bother going after criminals but they are still very interested in your footage and can take it without even asking. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/07/ring-reveals-they-give-videos-police-without-user-consent-or-warrant https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/07/ring-reveals-they-give...
- teddyh 4y ago
  I’d guess that this is exactly because the police don’t have to ask for the footage. I imagine that the police like to virtually skulk around like this whenever they can: It’s risk-free, and it feels productive, and if something happens they can just choose to ignore it if they feel like it, since nobody can see them ignore it.
brokenmachine 4y ago
A camera certainly helped me when someone sideswiped my car, then drove off and after being chased down claimed the big scratch along the side of their car was, "already there". But I agree in general with what you wrote.

bananabiscuit 4y ago

I’m not really a fan of surveillance, but where I live there is currently a decreasing amount of active persecution of crime and surveillance cameras are picking up the slack and are probably the main reason increasingly brazen criminals are getting identified and caught.

metadat 4y ago

Alternatively: https://archive.ph/bkJIM https://archive.ph/bkJIM

lost_tourist 4y ago

All mine are local going to local drives with nightly encrypted backups to the cloud so it's fine. Although I rely more on my motion/door/window sensors and 12 gauge to be safe.