October 13, 2003
Smile, You're on Candid Cellphone Camera
The New York Times has a story about a man taking a picture of an irrate customer in a store and posting it on his photoblog, "complete with a less than flattering caption", with comments followed online by the photoblog's camfans.
The article goes over the usual privacy issues surround cameraphones, but gives a voice to those people taking the pictures.
"Camera phone photographers defend their furtive shots in the name of free expression and grass-roots documentation. Each seems to have arrived at a personal privacy etiquette, such as it is".
Harmon's conclusion is insightful. "The object of street photography, whose legacy dates to the invention of the Kodak camera in the 1890's, has always been to capture life as it is lived, and photographers have eagerly adopted technology that would allow them to record it more faithfully". But Harmon points out that even the most miniature cameras "require holding the camera up to the eye, signaling that a photograph is being taken. It is the stealth capability of camera phones, combined with their ability to broadcast the image instantly, that some legal experts say may eventually call for a rethinking of privacy laws."
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/picturephoning/archives/2003/10/001926.htm
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