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Friday, November 26, 2010

Why Can't I be Naked in a Trunk?

Legalized Pundit stole my Palin post, so this is the best I've got.  Sorry.

So most of you have probably heard this story from Mannheim, Germany where Google Maps apparently shot a photo from the street of a naked man getting in (or out, I guess) of his trunk.  Forget for a moment the disturbing image that just came into your mind - I mean, why was that guy naked and in a trunk?  There's something more disturbing going on here.  Google's reckless invasion of privacy.  

It's one thing for the TSA to be giving us old fashions at the airport.  Like it or not, it's a government agency acting under the guise of security.  What is Google doing in our driveways?  Last I checked, they were still in the private sector.  Plus this guy now needs to change his kidnapping plan.

The thing that bothers me about this, you know, besides the obvious, is that the home is the one final place we have that isn't entirely followed by Big Sis.  There's some new show out that has a bunch of surveillance video in all sorts of places you'd never expect video feeds to be.  To be clear, you're always on camera when you're in public. Whether you know it or not.  

Google's response was predictable.  If you aren't doing anything wrong, why do you care?  Last I checked, google's live view wasn't supposed to be a weapon in crime mitigation.  

Look, I've seen way too many procedural cop dramas and been on Craigslist too often to realize there's a bunch of weird people in the world.  You know, people that get into trunks of cars naked to fix a tail light for example.  Frankly, I don't want to know what's going on in their lives, but I also want some expectation of privacy in my own home too.  Not because I'm doing anything wrong (well, at least not as I understand Florida law), but more because I'm rarely wearing clothes.  And no one wants to see that.  

The line has to be drawn in here.  Wisconsin recently tried to pass legislation banning smoking in people's homes.  As dumb as smoking is, people should have the right to do it in their own homes.  Right?  

Technological developments and national security have pretty much eliminated any public expectation of privacy. But this is the first situation where I've seen a private company, whether deliberately or not, is really intruding.  If this continues, Youtube will need its own home videos section of illicit home activity.

2 comments:

  1. Shockingly the ninth circuit just upheld the government sneeking onto your property to implant tracking devices on your vehicle. The home is supposed to be private. Guess not.

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  2. Yeah but the 9th circuit is crazy.

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