New Technology Blurs Surveillance and Privacy

The ACLU of Northern California has written extensively about the privacy and free speech implications of video surveillance.

A video surveillance firm is now trying to make its technology a bit more privacy friendly by developing technology to blur most people's faces.

With the rapid expansion of governmental video surveillance, the introduction of photographic services like Google Street View, and the fact that even convenience stores are starting to employ facial recognition surveillance technology, this would be a welcome trend.

The new software would obscure all faces captured by the camera except those in a suspect database. If the camera captured a crime, law enforcement could manually enter a password to see everyone in the video. Stephen Russell of 3VR, a surveillance company, explained that "while people may still feel uncomfortable about being on camera, at least they will not really be watched unless they happen to be present during a robbery or some other incident."

A video of the technology in action can be seen below:

3VR is not alone in pioneering this new technology. Responding to privacy concerns, Google has begun testing a program that automatically blurs faces in its Street View service.

It is important to recognize that blurring does not solve all the privacy and free speech problems inherent in video surveillance. Blurring does not eliminate the potential for immediate personal identification, especially when a small subset of people are routinely recorded. Furthermore, the protection offered is only as good as the use of the key that unlocks the footage. Privacy can quickly disappear without proper discretion and favorable public policy.

We agree with 3VR's statement that "industry needs to continue to work towards securing both people and their privacy." Blurring is a step in the right direction. Hopefully more will be taken.