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posted by hubie on Monday June 20 2022, @01:39AM   Printer-friendly
from the I-spy-with-my-little-camera dept.

Marseille's battle against the surveillance state

Across the world, video cameras have become an accepted feature of urban life. Many cities in China now have dense networks of them. London and New Delhi aren't far behind.

Now France is playing catch-up. Since 2015, the year of the Bataclan terrorist attacks, the number of cameras in Paris has increased fourfold. The police have used such cameras to enforce pandemic lockdown measures and monitor protests like those of the Gilets Jaunes. And a new nationwide security law, adopted last year, allows for video surveillance by police drones during events like protests and marches.

[...] Concerns have been raised throughout the country. But the surveillance rollout has met special resistance in Marseille, France's second-biggest city. The boisterous, rebellious Mediterranean town sits on some of the fault lines that run through modern France. Known for hip bars, artist studios, and startup hubs, it is also notorious for drugs, poverty, and criminal activity. It has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in Europe but is stranded in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, a region that leans far right. The city pushes back. Its attitude could be summed up by graffiti you might pass as you drive in on the A7 motorway: "La vie est (re)belle."

Big brother is watching you. The cameras are there for your protection. To prevent crime. But apparently they are only used in about 1-2% of investigations according to reviews. So what is the other 98-99% for? Security theater? Politicians being hard on crime, or having a hard on for crime. Panopticon for the masses that are not involved in crime? It's very hard to measure the effect of prevention in that regard.

But I guess people are starting to get a tad tired of being watched all the time like we are there for the entertainment of some big brother peeping Tom.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by stormreaver on Monday June 20 2022, @04:10PM (2 children)

    by stormreaver (5101) on Monday June 20 2022, @04:10PM (#1254652)

    We often say that it is not the tool that is responsible for a specific outcome.. but the person wielding or using the tool.

    There is no one with any significant political power that can be trusted with this tool.

    ...I have no issue with cameras in public places.

    I, on the other hand, have a HUGE issue with Government cameras in public places, and even their access to private security footage. Watch Don't Talk to the Police [youtube.com] (the relevant section start at about 4:40). The law professor talks about how even the Federal Government has lost track of just the number of Federal crimes, and this isn't even mentioning the number of State or Local statutes. Worse yet, these crimes and statutes tend to incorporate by reference countless other administrative rules and regulations that can bite you in terrible ways.

    There are so many laws creating so many crimes that there are great odds that you and I are breaking at least one of them every day just in our day to day lives. And now cameras are proliferating with the sole objective of recording those, most likely completely unintentional, violations that could make our lives miserable (or even effectively end them).

    Government surveillance is anathema to a Free society, and should be considered a public enemy.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 20 2022, @05:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 20 2022, @05:30PM (#1254681)

    Sounds like this criminal wants to buy his crack unhindered. Sure, friend. If you had nothing to hide, you would have nothing to fear. Put down the crack pipe.

  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday June 21 2022, @03:02AM

    by Reziac (2489) on Tuesday June 21 2022, @03:02AM (#1254813) Homepage
    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.