I heard an interesting piece on Marketplace yesterday afternoon. It was about the proliferation of cell phones that come with built-in cameras. A fad only a year or so ago, they are now everywhere. There has been more than one suggestion of banning the devices. While I can see a certain logic to that, it seems that there are some flaws to the logic.
For instance, the article mentions that someone could be on the phone while in reality they are taking a lewd photo. I don’t know about you, but to me a lewd photo probably involves actions that aren’t going to happen in a place where someone on a cell phone might just happen to be standing around. If they do happen, those people probably don’t mind being observed and/or recorded.
It may make sense to ban the phones in places like locker rooms, but you and I know that even if such a ban is ever implemented, there are bound to be violations. If camera phones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have camera phones and all that.
Admittedly, this might curtail your freedoms somewhat if you like to run around the locker room (or your front yard) naked. Of course, that’s only if you mind being photographed without your clothes and a few million of your closest friends having access to the pictures. On the other hand, it may lead to an entirely new attitude on even being naked.
Can such a device be abused? Sure. But so can the telephone. If that’s not true, why is there such a fuss about the do-not-call list? Why do we have caller ID? Why are there unlisted numbers? Abuse is not device-dependent.