It's About Anonymity, not Privacy

Image CC0 by Anna Dziubinska
Image CC0 by Anna Dziubinska

... collecting video now has wide support. “But everybody differs a little bit on what to do with it after that.” The same cameras that improve transparency and accountability can also violate the privacy of people in front of and behind the lens. Police officers don’t want to be recorded bitching about their superiors. Witnesses and informants are understandably wary about who gets to see the recordings, and protesters worry about being tracked by government agencies. Mark Harris on Medium

The privacy issue is overblown. I don't think one can expect privacy while one is performing public acts. What people are concerned about is anonymity. What people are anxious about is being identifiable when out in public. People who live in large cities where it's easy to remain anonymous tend to behave much differently than people who live in small towns where most residents know each other. People are concerned about how their behaviour will seem to the public. People behave differently when they know someone is observing them. They are afraid they will have to behave differently or risk public judgement.

Living with a pretence, or being afraid that some aspect of ourselves might be found out, precludes any real freedom. We live, rather, with a kind of fabricated freedom—a large price to pay.Joe DiMaggio, MD

Published via MarsEdit