Expecting privacy in public places

Michael Jackson’s passing last week at the tender age of 50
shocked me right down to my shoes. “It’s getting deadlier and deadlier
for celebrities like us,” I was overheard to remark. The King of Pop’s
demise was likely brought on by the stress of rehearsing for 50
concerts starting this summer in London. In my case, celebrity-hood
exposes me to the unrelenting pressures of churning out a steady stream
of cutting-edge editorials for millions of readers. And, like poor
Jacko, it also means enduring the stress of having my every move
monitored.

Sometimes I feel like I’m Truman Burbank starring in his own soap
opera. Routine trips to an ATM, the local grocery store or even a visit
to a high school political science class brings the unblinking gaze of
dozens of cameras. Two of my biggest fans, police chief Beazley and
mayor Kelly, relentlessly monitor my movements on downtown streets.
They’re even planning to start using wireless cams at this summer’s
mega-concerts on the Common. No, they won’t be pointed at my fellow
celebrities, McCartney and KISS. They’ll be aimed squarely at me!

There’s no escape. Metro Transit buses are getting cameras that
continuously record both picture and sound. A recent Herald report on the bus cams elicited a plaintive message in the comments
section from “annmarie”—obviously a pseudonym for my fellow celeb,
Anne Murray. “So, if you’re just chatting with your friends, your
privacy in that conversation is being recorded and your privacy has
been invaded,” she wrote. “I’m glad I don’t ride the buses anymore.”
Her comment generated a flood of pseudonymous flames.

“I really hate when people think public cameras are an invasion of
their privacy!” said one angry commenter. “You legally have no right to
expect privacy in a public place,” another wrote. “I don’t ride the bus
very often, but when I do, I feel much safer,” someone else opined.
“You want privacy, stay in your home!” Someone calling herself
“cdngurl” observed, “If recording every word I say means that one
passenger or one driver will be safe and one criminal will pay for
his/her crimes than [sic] by all means it’s worth it…They search your
personal belongings at the airport—privacy is a thing of the
past.”

Yes, privacy may indeed be a thing of the past. But where’s the
proof that cameras necessarily make anyone safer or that people in
public places have no right to privacy? Canadian criminology professor
Randy Lippert, who has studied the effects of cameras in public places,
was quoted recently by CBC Halifax as saying, “Most of the activities
that people fear the most—that is, you know, bombings and
beatings—aren’t deterred by the presence of the cameras.”

And, retired Supreme Court justice Gerard La Forest argues there’s a
strong case to be made that surveillance cameras recording continuously
in public places violate privacy laws and the Charter of Rights. “We
should all be free to move about without fear of being systematically
observed by agents of the state,” he writes. Personally, I’d say
cameras on buses wouldn’t be nearly as intrusive if drivers could
activate them when an incident occurs, instead of recording everyone,
all the time.

Meantime, the Harper government introduced bills last week that
would make it easier for police to monitor my email and internet
surfing. Celebrity journalists like me worry that making it easier to
monitor digital communications will give secretive governments more
power to track down and fire whistleblowers who email us about
wrongdoing by public officials. At the very least, there needs to be
strong, independent oversight built into monitoring powers so that
police and internet service providers can’t abuse them.

No, I can tell you from my personal, celebrity experience, it’s no
fun being under constant surveillance. As Justice La Forest points out,
privacy is at the heart of liberty in a modern state.

Correction: Last week’s main photo on page 6 had the wrong
caption. It actually shows El Jones, and was taken by Julé
Malet-Veale.

Send an encrypted email to brucew@thecoast.ca.

This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2009.