There has always been a fine balance between the need to know and privacy. On one hand we have regions that passed legislation forcing police officers to wear body cameras and as a result saw a significant decrease in police brutality complaints. On the other hand violations of privacy such as the publishing of data from the dating site “Ashley Madison” resulted in a number of of suicides and people in countries where homosexuality is illegal risk prosecution and death.
So called Ag-Gag bills are another example. This is a legislation that prohibits whistleblowers from filming inside animal factories and then releasing the footage. The factory owners argue sensitive trade secrets maybe revealed putting their business at risk, while animal rights activists argue that the public has the right to know about animal abuse cases and/or potential Health hazards.
Despite the privacy concerns innovations in the field of surveillance continue to flourish. Google glass, dropcam and a myriad of other video monitoring devices spring up and then collide with privacy protection activists. Some restaurants in the bay area have even come up with their own makeshift “legislation” which ban the use of Google glass in their establishments.
So what is the genesis behind some of these gadgets? Is it the nefarious violation of privacy or something else? Let’s take a look at one of the latest innovations called Spy Cup.
I came up with the idea while filming dolphin Hunt in Japan. One day while standing next to the Sea Shepherd crew I was approached by two police officers. They asked me if I can come into the police station to ask me some questions. It’s a standard procedure in that town because of skirmishes between activists and the local population. The problem is that a few days before my translator gets arrested and ends up in jail because he failed to renew his visa. So when inside the police station I become very nervous. At that moment I had a coffee cup in my hand and the iPhone in my pocket. In front of me was a big sign “NO CAMERAS!”.
As much as I wanted to respect the privacy of the police officers in front of me I also wanted to document what’s happening. This is when I got the idea for Spy Cup. It’s a device that looks like a coffee cup inside which you can drop your iPhone and thus transform it into a hidden camera.
This device could be used by activists which are currently battling the Ag-Gag legislation, it’s a cheap alternative to other similar devices that cost up to 17 times and iPhone allows the user to live stream the footage. There has been some pushback from citizens, but as with any legislation or product it is impossible to please 100% of the people.
Will people use this product for something bad? The possibility is there, but we cannot stop progress because something can be misused. With that logic we would not have television, Internet or VCRs, all of which are misused. Everyone would be living like the secluded traditionalists without electricity or phones (both of which can be misused).
The conclusion is that debate continues and as with anything else the direct involvement of government through legislations is still the best ways to combat the inappropriate uses of new technologies.
To learn more about Spy Cup click here
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