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Comment by array_key_first

2 days ago

I mean, stalking is very clearly illegal.

The main issue is that we have a different set of laws that govern businesses and that govern private citizens.

If I set up a camera in a local park and programmed it to zoom into children's faces and stream it directly to my computer, I am surely going to jail.

But if I set up 100 cameras to do just that, baby, that's just business.

It's almost paradoxical. The more evil I do, the less illegal it becomes. The greater the scale of harm I inflict, the more palatable it is. It's a get out of jail free card.

Are you a psychopath? Love to kill people? Well, don't use knives or guns silly! Instead, form an LLC and give people poison. You'll kill 100x more people with 100x less consequences!

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array_key_first

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gruez  2 days ago

>If I set up a camera in a local park and programmed it to zoom into children's faces and stream it directly to my computer, I am surely going to jail.

[citation needed]

You might be called a creep, and you might be asked to remove the camera (because you can't leave random cameras on public property without permission), but operating cameras in public and recording stuff isn't illegal. Paparazzis do that all the time.

  • array_key_first  2 days ago

    No, actually, how you do it matters.

    If I use that information to track someone and watch them specifically, that is stalking and is illegal. I know it's illegal here in Texas.

    The law is not an algorithm, it's very complex. Recording people in public is absolutely illegal in many instances.