The Astronomer CEOâs Coldplay Concert Fiasco Is Emblematic of Our Social Media Surveillance Dystopia
Different things. Not related. Youâre at a sportsball match you can be shown on the telly. If you donât like it, watch it on the telly (and given a discussion I recently read on the lives of US sportsball tickets save yourself like 500 for two people while you are at it!) like most people.
Facial recognition, surveillance, algorithmic discrimination, law enforcement overreach, social media companies utter disregard for the privacy of their users, data brokers, surveillance advertising etc. are all real problems. They are problems with the ability to unravel society. Indeed they are well on the way.
This isnât that. Itâs nothing.
Also they fucking deserve it. Coldplay. Thatâs some shameful shit right there.
So, donât participate in social life if youâre not willing to be made part of the spectacle?
Thatâs not what he said.
They want social and sports? They can go to a sports bar.
Thereâs more music than big arena
Thereâs a difference between appearing on television as part of a crowd and being singled out. (What I almost typed before, but wanted to avoid the obvious jokes that would ensue.)
Some people like to be there live and in person. Itâs not the same as a sports bar. And for those, like myself for that matter, who donât especially care about sports, you can apply the same idea to other events. Concerts, lectures, political rallies, etc.
But thatâs always been the case. Go to a ball game? You might be shown in the audience on TV. Or in the stadium on the Jumbotron via the âkisscam.â
This sort of thing isnât new. Cheaters being caught via public exposure on media while at a public event (and even in news reports) has been happening for decades.
What is new is the ability to rapidly identify people through technology and disseminate that info well beyond the reach of oneâs immediate social circles. I agree with you that that is a big problem, but have no solutions, other than to not be on social media, which may not be desirable for many people.
If you donât want to participate in a spectacle, donât.
Totally different from social media and all the other shitstorms we face.
Tbf, I only know kiss cams from American movies and they do feel like an invasion of privacy to me. You have a reasonable expectation to be semi-anonymous in a large crowd. To focus the attention of the entire crowd on you, without warning, feels icky. Iâm also pretty sure it would be illegal in most European countries.
It isnât.
Flat out not illegal. They focused on individuals at the World Cup in Germany in case you think itâs lax Irish enforcement of GDPR.
Kiss cams are gross though. And I would gleefully give them the finger and mouth âfuck you â rather than kisss anyone.
According to this law firm it is nevertheless illegal in Germany to zoom in on individuals in a crowd shot, at least if you broadcast it on TV.
But clearly thatâs not enforced, since it happens all the time, as you said.
Diese Ausnahme rechtfertigt es nicht, dass das Fernsehen aus der Masse heraus eine einzelne Person herauszoomt und vergröĂert darstellt. Solche Aufnahmen sind rechtswidrig (auch wenn sie tatsĂ€chlich gemacht werden, weil sich kaum jemand wehrt). Das Foto bzw. der Film in die Menschenmenge, in der Personen erkennbar sind, ist nur gestattet, soweit dadurch ein reprĂ€sentativer Eindruck des Geschehens vermittelt wird.
This exception does not justify television zooming in on a single person out of the crowd and showing them enlarged. Such recordings are unlawful (even if they are actually made because hardly anyone resists). A photo or film of a crowd in which people are recognisable is only permitted if it conveys a representative impression of the event.
Both execs have now been placed on paid leave by the board of directors, pending an investigation.
ETA: I understand peopleâs privacy concerns. Legally, in the US, this is settled law. If you are in public, you have no expectation of privacy, and you can be filmed, photographed, and recorded without your consent. These two people are executives at a successful high tech firm. If they arenât aware of the law on such things, they certainly should be. Also, he is her boss. The affair itself raises a lot of legitimate concerns for the company. What happens if they didnât get caught here, but then the affair ends badly, and she sues for harassment? What if she doesnât, but it negatively impacts their working relationship? And then on top of that, the poor judgment reflected in their carelessness to keep this affair private. I mean, they went to a Coldplay concert and engaged in PDA while there. If you are engaged in something that you think is fine, but you donât want to be public knowledge for whatever reason, then donât take that behavior out into public spaces. I understand people feeling uncomfortable about kiss cams. Or other cams. Iâve seen ones that use some kind of filters to make the people look like theyâre crying (usually this is aimed at fans of the opposing team at sporting events). But these are known risks of going to major sporting events and concerts, and they have been for a long time. Hell, thereâs also security cameras all over the place in major cities. Privacy in public spaces is all but completely gone. It sucks in some ways, but thereâs no putting that toothpaste back in the tube.
Privacy be damned. This is an abuse of power. I conduct regular ethics training on this shit. They obviously didnât attend, or didnât pay attention. If this were my organization, the board would already have canned their asses sans severance or golden parachute and have begun recruiting their replacements.
I understand that a minimum of three people in shot is regarded as âsafeâ for broadcasters. Every large event (sports or music) I have attended in the past few years have had signs warning public if they pass a point in the perimeter they are agreeing to be filmed/photographed.
Watching the Womenâs Euros match England vs Sweden I was surprised that one of the England playersâ very young children were shown several times (both were obviously tired and bored by extra time) and identified in commentary, I would have thought that was specifically prohibited, but I have no idea of Swiss laws on the matter.
Shouldnât the Head of HR know that sort of thing in general?
You would think so, but here we are.