by EPR »
06 Nov 2011 18:11
Sadly our generation is part of a learning curve in terms of what society is prepared to accept in terms of electronic and particularly video surveillance; which combined with facial recognition technology has massive potential for abuse.
The technology comes along; manufacturers and suppliers sell the "benefits" to authorities and private companies who are sold on it; yet nowhere is a moments consideration given to the social aspect of all this.
The reason I think it is a big social problem is because it is a TRUST issue; and trust is one of the most important elements of human-human and human-business relationships. Companies filming people who have not done anything wrong are basically saying "we do not trust you".
Unfortunately for the companies who are blindly and not even covertly implementing this technology, trust has to be mutual, and football clubs and their associated policing authorities have to be very careful how they handle this.
To end on a brighter note; at least TVP doesn't (to my knowledge) have dedicated "Football Command Vehicle" police van, complete with mobile CCTV.