WHEN BEING SEEN
MEANS BEING SAFE 💎

I’ve been thinking about all these arguments over cameras, surveillance and systems like Flock. And I realised something uncomfortable.

I DON'T FEAR CAMERAS.

Not because I think surveillance is harmless. And not because I think governments or corporations should be trusted blindly. But because I am physically vulnerable (disabled).

If someone decided to harm me or rob me, I would have no ability to stop them. So a camera can mean something quite different to me.

IT CAN BE A WITNESS.

Someone stronger and more physically independent might experience being watched as a loss of freedom. I can understand that. But being unseen does not automatically feel like freedom to me.

Sometimes being unseen means being unprotected.

THAT CHANGES THE CALCULATION.

I still think there should be strict rules about who can access surveillance data, how long it is kept, and what it can be used for. But I’m beginning to see that privacy itself can be experienced very differently depending on the body you inhabit.

FOR SOME, PRIVACY IS SAFETY.

For me, visibility is safety. And neither experience cancels out the other.

@3goodthings @DigitalCoup @meditation @economics_that_works

#Disability #Privacy #Surveillance #Accessibility #Safety #Technology #Agency #PWD #people