I'm in Berlin. We just watched Germany lose to Spain. We walked past a restaurant and saw a bunch of people starting at a screen, and it looked like a good picture to me. I was about to take it, and my friend said "You cannot take pictures without permission from those people." I had no intention of posting on social media because I don't use that.
Then we had a fascinating discussion about how photos without consent are outlawed. And, how video cameras are outlawed in public places. You cannot put up a camera outside your house to watch for Amazon packages.
I was really struck by the "news" I get about Europe. I hear incessant discussions about GDPR, which is a very abstract thing about collecting data. I'm for it, I think, but it is abstract. If I ever heard a reporter saying "You know, in Europe they are having a very different conversation about people taking pictures of your kids without your consent" well, damn, I would be very excited and interested in that article.
The fact that I don't read those articles makes me think my "news" is very controlled by social media companies, or should I say, anyone who has business in making sure data collection is unimpeded, which means Google, Facebook, probably Amazon.
Is my friend wrong? Is this more complicated? Or am I right that the discussion of what happens in Europe is framed in a way that keeps me uninformed about what is really possible?
Then we had a fascinating discussion about how photos without consent are outlawed. And, how video cameras are outlawed in public places. You cannot put up a camera outside your house to watch for Amazon packages.
I was really struck by the "news" I get about Europe. I hear incessant discussions about GDPR, which is a very abstract thing about collecting data. I'm for it, I think, but it is abstract. If I ever heard a reporter saying "You know, in Europe they are having a very different conversation about people taking pictures of your kids without your consent" well, damn, I would be very excited and interested in that article.
The fact that I don't read those articles makes me think my "news" is very controlled by social media companies, or should I say, anyone who has business in making sure data collection is unimpeded, which means Google, Facebook, probably Amazon.
Is my friend wrong? Is this more complicated? Or am I right that the discussion of what happens in Europe is framed in a way that keeps me uninformed about what is really possible?