• ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    They’d be helpful when interacting with police. Heck, I could see them being useful when interacting with anyone in a hostile situation. What people will say when they don’t think they’re being recorded and what they will say when they know they are can be vastly different, and the people that will speak and act differently are the very ones you want to record. I’ve had occasions in the past where these would have been very useful, though it turned out recorded audio was sufficent.

    Unfortunately the tech is ripe for abuse and I understand the mistrust they cause. Too many crappy people, and too many crappy tech companies that will abuse the video themselves even if the person wearing them only used them with good intentions.

    • 4am@lemmy.zip
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      25 days ago

      Even though I agree with recording police, the fact that your first thought went straight to “hidden camera for the purpose of recording without consent” makes this a nonstarter to begin with.

      • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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        25 days ago

        Most states it’s legal to record audio without consent if you’re a party to the conversation, and it’s legal federally. Recording video in public is ok most everywhere.

        For me personally I went to jail for false accusations of assault. I had no choice but to interact with a very scheming and hostile individual for a long time and if I’d not recorded the conversations - on advice from my friend and attorney - I’d have likely not beat the charges. So yeah… I very much have a scenario in mind where these would have been helpful and there are certainly others who can probably relate.

        • steelplatedmech@piefed.ca
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          24 days ago

          This is similar to the type of arguments made by those wanting increased surveillance with stuff like flock camera and ID online verification expansion. Pointing to the bad things in the world it helps prevent or track down that happens.

          And pointing to the law to keep pushing what they are allowed to record and track.

          Privacy and security has been a balancing act. And even examples of bad thing that happens I’m sure you can relate is the very common attempt at emotional appeal used by them.

          Not denying your use case, but when it comes to surveillance they all seem to use the argument of safety.

          • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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            24 days ago

            A person being able to record what they see and hear is different than a robot that records everything. I strongly disapprove of flock and online ID verification. Those aren’t related to a person being able to make a personal record.

            • steelplatedmech@piefed.ca
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              24 days ago

              I’m sure that’s the argument Meta is making for their glasses.

              People aren’t any better, since people are more likely to be recording specifically for the purposes of resharing and we do live in a social media age.

              And these devices as they gain popularity would be relaying information back to the companies anyways, so make the claims of it being local or private not matter when that wouldn’t be the average wearable discrete tech that would gain mainstream popularity.

              • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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                24 days ago

                As I said I’m not arguing for Meta’s glasses. They’re ripe for abuse and I have no doubt there are people who would use them in inappropriate ways and in non-public places where a person otherwise expects some privacy.

                While there are valid reasons for recording things both in public and private, without a doubt the ability to secretly record video will be abused.

                • steelplatedmech@piefed.ca
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                  24 days ago

                  Whether its meta or not, discrete wearable video recording is not something I am in favor of. Like the recent LG spyware installing on people’s Windows PC shows, many tech companies aren’t in the business of being privacy respecting in the products they offer. It’s usually those companies that gain market share.

                  And individuals with how quick they are to live stream and share every picture and video voluntarily to social media sites doesn’t much lend to responsible use either. At least those people aren’t usually hiding that they are recording.

                  When it comes to legal audio wiretapping those are already sufficient in places where it is legal to be used in cases like yours. So I don’t much see a need to further extend hidden audio recordings to also include hidden video recordings with wearables. Cases where video is also needed seem more like very specific niche cases involving investigations, so to shift it to being an every day casual accessory I dont see as necessary.