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Would you be bothered if someone followed you daily on the sidewalk, noting your paths? I would. Would it be any better if, rather than one person following yo

by sirsar 12y ago

Would you be bothered if someone followed you daily on the sidewalk, noting your paths? I would. Would it be any better if, rather than one person following you, it was one guy on every street corner, who collaborated to reconstruct the paths you walked, and kept a record? For me, that would be just as offensive. Now consider that by collecting data points from every car, anywhere, the police can do this kind of tracking to everybody. I don't find that any better than hiring one stalker per citizen. You remembering that you met me in a coffee shop wouldn't bother me. You following me everywhere certainly would.

randallsquared 12y ago
I'm not the grandparent commenter, but your first example would indeed bother me, while the second wouldn't. The scenario of someone following me around holds worrisome import quite apart from the mere knowledge of what I'm doing or where I'm going (which I used to worry about, but tried to avoid worrying about after I realized that in a decade or two, there would be no way of knowing if someone had a camera (other than their eyes, of course...) pointed at me).
jack-r-abbit 12y ago
The first one would be a little bothersome... but as much (or more) from a personal safety aspect than a privacy aspect. I would feel just as uncomfortable if the person was just following me and not even recording my movements. The physical presence of some one and their close proximity all the time would make me nervous about physical harm coming to me. The second one would be much less bothersome but I would still feel a little uncomfortable about it. Being singled out would be curious. And while it would not be the same person the whole time, we still have the physical presence and close proximity focused solely on me that would make nervous about physical harm. So a third scenario: rather than one person following you, it was one guy on every street corner, who collaborated to reconstruct the paths everyone walked, and kept a record. This scenario is much more akin to that of the article. I would hardly care. Sure there is still the physical presence but it is not focused solely on me. I would be much more at ease knowing that each person standing there, noting the paths of everyone that walks by, doesn't actually care about me individually. If they are not concerned about me then they are far less likely to cause me harm. Parking enforcement has used License Plate Recognition tech for quite a while. They drive around and it records plate, location, time, etc. If your vehicle is in violation of the local parking limits, it sounds an alarm and they stop and issue you a ticket. They can also detect if your vehicle is in need of a boot/tow due to excessive tickets, etc. Just because they have records of where and when you parked, doesn't mean they are "tracking" you.

by sirsar 12y ago

randallsquared 12y ago

I'm not the grandparent commenter, but your first example would indeed bother me, while the second wouldn't. The scenario of someone following me around holds worrisome import quite apart from the mere knowledge of what I'm doing or where I'm going (which I used to worry about, but tried to avoid worrying about after I realized that in a decade or two, there would be no way of knowing if someone had a camera (other than their eyes, of course...) pointed at me).

jack-r-abbit 12y ago

The first one would be a little bothersome... but as much (or more) from a personal safety aspect than a privacy aspect. I would feel just as uncomfortable if the person was just following me and not even recording my movements. The physical presence of some one and their close proximity all the time would make me nervous about physical harm coming to me. The second one would be much less bothersome but I would still feel a little uncomfortable about it. Being singled out would be curious. And while it would not be the same person the whole time, we still have the physical presence and close proximity focused solely on me that would make nervous about physical harm. So a third scenario: rather than one person following you, it was one guy on every street corner, who collaborated to reconstruct the paths everyone walked, and kept a record. This scenario is much more akin to that of the article. I would hardly care. Sure there is still the physical presence but it is not focused solely on me. I would be much more at ease knowing that each person standing there, noting the paths of everyone that walks by, doesn't actually care about me individually. If they are not concerned about me then they are far less likely to cause me harm. Parking enforcement has used License Plate Recognition tech for quite a while. They drive around and it records plate, location, time, etc. If your vehicle is in violation of the local parking limits, it sounds an alarm and they stop and issue you a ticket. They can also detect if your vehicle is in need of a boot/tow due to excessive tickets, etc. Just because they have records of where and when you parked, doesn't mean they are "tracking" you.