A new video vigilante service, called Internet Eyes, is starting up in the UK, where average citizens are rewarded for watching store video cameras on the Internet and instantly notifying store owners via text message when they see a crime, like shoplifting occur. The service is both controversial and interesting.
The controversy comes from privacy concerns, where Internet Eyes recently won regulator approval. The interesting part comes from the entire business model. Nearly all retail stores have some type of video security system in place these days. The problem is, these systems are rarely monitored by human beings in real-time, rather, they simply provide after-the-fact evidence of a crime.
With Internet Eyes, every-day people (i.e. the public) will be able to monitor store video cameras over the Internet in real-time. If they see someone shoplifting, they can immediately notify store owners. In other words, crime can be stopped as it happens.
So what’s the attraction for the public to do this? First, there are rewards. The most successful “net cops” can receive monthly prizes of cash or merchandise. And then there’s the whole gaming aspect of it, where people are naturally drawn to the real-life game of cat and mouse. For store owners the advantages are obvious…they can have a fleet of eyeballs watching their stores 24/7 for less than they’d have to pay a security firm.
It will be interesting to see how Internet Eyes fares in the UK…and if similar services will start popping up in the U.S. (with it’s litigation happy society).
I’ll be happy to volunteer to watch the security cameras covering the ladies changing rooms Dave 😉
The Gestapo would be very please if thousands of squealers offered to do this. What could possibly go wrong here? A spy in every office and every home. George Orwell, genius.
Very interesting. However, the monitoring of live Public Space Surveillance CCTV in the UK is legislated and governed by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Basically if you are monitoring CCTV in an area to which the public has access, you should be licensed by the SIA. This usually means places like car parks in hospitals and universities but could it be argued that a private shop is a public space as it allows unrestricted access to the public during opening times? If so, can ‘Jo Public’ monitor it legally?…..