Using an Anonymous Proxy in our Surveillance Society
Do you ever get that feeling that someone is following you, someone is watching you? Don’t quickly jump to the conclusion that you are crazy; many others feel the same way. The fact is that you are often being watched, and not just by other people. In Britain, and as being tested in some undisclosed parts of the United States, people are being held under surveillance by discreet video cameras mounted on houses. These video cameras can watch passerby and record everything that they see and or do. The cameras can be accessed by local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, or any other criminal agency at any time, with a live feed able to be brought up. These cameras are supposed to watch for “anti-social behavior”, and when detected, the police are to be dispatched and the situation taken care of.
While the idea of being watched sounds bad, it really is not. It depends clearly on the type. When you are being watched for your own safety, as these video cameras are doing for the citizens, sometimes it is necessary to make some privacy sacrifices to ensure your protection. The only question that arises is what exactly is “anti-social behavior”? If this anti-social behavior means a man waiting outside someone’s house looking to see if anyone is home, and then trying to break the door down or open a window, then it goes without saying that we would all be okay with these cameras. Sometimes these cameras can snoop into places we don’t want them too, and they then abandon their public service. This is the bad kind of being watched, a voyeuristic viewing of your life and its details. It doesn’t have to be the actual watching of your person though or what you are doing; this illegal type of surveillance expands into the extension of your self, except online: your social security number, your documents, your emails, etc.

