Current Event Blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11460897 Link to article
Internet eyes is an England based company which hooks up store security cameras to the Internet. The footage is streamed throughout the European Union, subscribers to the site can watch the footage for twenty minute intervals and report any suspicious behavior for cash rewards. My first reaction was if people would use the site or not. As someone mentioned during the class discussion, the idea is somewhat lame. Having to pay to spy on random people in the hope of a cash reward is not the most exciting way to spend time. On the other hand, people love reality TV, watching people shopping may peak this same interest. In addition, the popularity of shows like CSI, and other crime dramas demonstrates an interest in crime. If people are interested in this site the next question concerns motivation; would people watch because culture has a sick obsession with watching other people’s lives or because people generally want to help? I think it is less on the helping end, and more about being able to watch random people. As we have discussed in class, people like to stalk one another on Facebook and Twitter , this is a similar activity with a cash reward. I don’t think as many people would be interested in the site if there was not some sort of reward for catching the bad guy. America’s Most Wanted and wanted posters operates under a similar principal, offering money in exchange for information. This is odd, the idea people are unwilling to stop crime unless it comes with some personal benefit. Someone mentioned in class that Americans have negative stigmatisms and names, rat, tattle tale, cannery, connected with telling on others. However, if a person receives monetary gain by talking, it becomes acceptable to break this social norm. By offering a cash reward, Internet Eyes eliminates the possibility of associating itself with the tattle tale name. Knowing about our cultures obsession with crime and stalking on computers, it seems logical Internet Eyes is driven by profit rather than preventing crime, particularly because people have to pay to use the site.
Privacy is another problem with this site. When entering a store a person agrees to let the store watch and record them, this right is not necessarily open to anyone in the world. As citizens we give up a certain amount of our privacy to authority in return for protection. However, people watching at home are not authority figures, they are people out to make money. Furthermore, the people being watched are in a public space, however the watchers are in a private space. Thus the people at home retain their privacy while invading others. Privacy International, (http://www.privacyinternational.org/) a group who keeps tabs on surveillance organizations, has taken an issue with the site. Even so, because the law has not caught up to technology it is hard to tell if this site really invades people’s privacy rights.