
I documented every surveillance camera on my way to work in New York City - grumpypoet
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-security-cameras-in-new-york-city-2019-12
======
licebmi__at__
One thing that I always wondered is if people just ignore the cameras.

Once I got called for questioning on a local retail store, since I was with
enough free time and a good mood, so I just went with it. So the reason I was
called was that the security guard noticed that I was looking at all security
cameras which made me seem suspicious, my only answer was "well they're
distracting".

Anyway there was no other irregularity and even the manager thought that the
guard was being over zealous, but I was left wondering if other people are not
uncomfortable around so many cameras. That this journalist seems surprised
makes me think that maybe other people aren't even aware of them.

~~~
esotericn
In the UK there are advertisements on the public transport network that
recommend reporting suspicious activity.

One of them has a 'plotline' of someone who's taking a photo of a camera. "Are
they checking out security" or something like that.

[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DKU8EK5W0AA4dwH.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DKU8EK5W0AA4dwH.jpg)

~~~
rbinv
I honestly can't tell if this is real or not. If it is: what the fuck.

~~~
paganel
Looks too dystopian to not be true in this day and age.

I'm not a native English speaker though and I'm left wondering what that
"Sorted" statement at the end of it all really means. "Sort" what out? Why
would you need to "sort" a person who's taking photos of video-surveillance
cameras? In what way are they going to "sort" those persons out?

~~~
jamespetercook
It means "Your task is now complete, docile citizen. You may continue with
your day."

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Out_of_Characte
Quite ironic to post this piece of journalism on one of the worst offenders on
tracking and personalised advertisements. I can see more than 20 scripts
without even having anything enabled. Set your own house in order before
judging the government.

~~~
akie
> Set your own house in order before judging the government.

Why?

~~~
Out_of_Characte
Because its hypocritical to expect the governement to not use tools and data
analytics to improve 'user experience/citizen's well being' while being guilty
of the exact same behaviour.

dont wait for others to do the right thing, get your own house in order, then
help the rest of the world.

~~~
retSava
While I agree with the desire to reduce tracking on that, and other, site,
there is a clear difference compared to when a government does it.

For one, you could likely not avoid it if the gov did it, while you can "just"
chose to not use that site.

For second, just now the post about the auctioned japanese gov disks with tax
payer info on them, illustrates how such sensitive data can be lost.

And third, the risk of abuse. All it may take is an election.

So I think it's ok, although not the best, to do have a look at those in power
even if the looker has a dirty house themselves. The alternative is worse.

------
rapnie
StreetComplete - OpenStreetMap editor for Android - has an open quest issue
for collecting surveillance camera properties.

[https://github.com/westnordost/StreetComplete/issues/87](https://github.com/westnordost/StreetComplete/issues/87)

edit: the issue also contains a link to Where Are The Eyes, another camera
registration app:
[https://eyes.daylightingsociety.org/](https://eyes.daylightingsociety.org/)

------
ryandvm
I wonder if you could fight fire with fire on this one. Imagine a grassroots
project of targeted surveillance that specifically focused on geo-tracking the
people that could change things (politicians, law enforcement) but ironically
operated by privacy minded folks.

Basically, anyone with a fixed camera could participate. They'd have their
video uploaded to a system that would use facial recognition on regional
lawmakers to produce an incredibly creepy database of all the public activity
of the targets. I would think this would be creepy enough to bring a national
conversation about the topic front and center.

It's a bit of a false-flag/scorched-earth operation, but the end goal being
legislation that makes such invasive surveillance illegal.

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vermarish
Content aside, this article is really well formatted. Going photo by photo,
camera by camera puts me in the shoes of the author, and frankly gives me the
same feeling I had when I first read 1984 (especially when he mentioned the
sky was fittingly grey).

~~~
arethuza
I'm pretty sure that in 1984 only a relatively small part of the population,
the Inner Party, were constantly monitored.

~~~
mbel
Not quite, but you are close. It wasn't the whole population in 1984 that was
monitored. Inner Party members were monitored, but could turn off telescreens.
Outer Party members had to have them on all the time. Proles weren't
monitored. The idea was to monitor middle class as it was considered to be
necessary for lower class to revolt. Upper class had no reason to revolt as
they were in power.

I'm leaving this comment mostly for people downvoting OP.

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elygre
I remember this quote or saying:

“We live in a special time: there are cameras everywhere, and we can see them.
In the past, they were not everywhere. In the future, we will not be able to
see them.”

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Merrill
I wonder what the ratio of real versus dummy cameras is?

[https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Home-Security-
Video-S...](https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Home-Security-Video-
Surveillance-Security-Cameras-Fake-Security-Cameras/N-5yc1vZc579)

------
rkagerer
When I was young it was polite and proper etiquette to ask someone before
taking their picture.

------
isostatic
One thing that really harms the utility of cameras is face coverings. Over the
last 20 years the two most prolific face coverings in the UK have been
attacked in society - Hoodies and Niquab/Burkas. For various reasons the UK
populatino has been conditioned to see a face covering and think "Crime". The
UK's equivalent of Trump has denigrate people wearing veils, the media has
spent a decade attacking "hoodies" [1]

I'm sure it's a coincidence.

[0] [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-
johnso...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-
muslim-women-letterboxes-burqa-islamphobia-rise-a9088476.html) [1]
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hoodies-
lout...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hoodies-louts-scum-
how-media-demonises-teenagers-1643964.html)

