Editorial: peepshow stars against own will

Photo: Toomas Huik / Postimees

Easy to label stuff... the police set up security cameras and we pour forth phrases like Surveillance Society, Big Brother, Police State. In some ways that may be – the police knows information is an advantage and we do want them to do well protecting us.

But, come to think of it, the police-installed cameras are just the tip of the iceberg: most of the cameras our own hands have installed. This is like some cheap Sci-Fi story: the hero is after the baddie and at the very climax he happens before a mirror and... lo and behold, he is the baddie.

Likewise, in the real life: the guys fresh from cursing the Big Bro have eyes opened to see they have set up a sizable share of the surveillance society cameras – streaming stuff to the masses.

The cameras are available in most tech stores. They are so ubiquitous, no one pays attention anymore. Some get these for security’s sake – good to keep an eye on the dacha, over the Internet. Some do it for control – lest the shop assistants steal, lest the waitress idle around. Schools use these against bullies. Kids’ playgrounds have them to keep an eye on toddlers without having to hang out the window. Baby monitors show if the infant is sweetly asleep or demands Mom. Good reasons, provided all concerned are aware of that. Usually, they are.

All would be okay as any organisation and family will decide for themselves, within the law. As it usually is.

The problems begin if, not limited to the school security guy, novice parent or slightly paranoid CEO, the information spreads far and wide. As soon as in wrong hands, information stops enhancing security and turns into a threat. Like with so many of the web cameras. As usual, these are the banal trivialities: web camera password is given by factory, shared by many, and easy to use for web viewers. So easy it’s almost funny. And funny it would be if not risky regarding the security of people.

Information in itself isn’t good or bad, but it can be used for both. Good, if used as intended. Bad, if used for anything else. So there are two hopes we now have. Firstly, that the thousands of web camera owners will have wits enough to, at long last, change the factory passwords. And secondly: that the information already in the World Wide Web will not be used to harm the weak. For in this the police are surely right: the one who knows more is always stronger.