Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Real-LIfe Distributed-Snooping Web Game To Launch In Britain

Posted by timothy on from the no-room-for-abuse-there dept.

corerunner writes "A new internet game is about to be launched which allows 'super snooper' players to plug into the nation's CCTV cameras and report on members of the public committing crimes. The 'Internet Eyes' service involves players scouring thousands of CCTV cameras installed in shops, businesses and town centres across Britain looking for law-breakers. Players who help catch the most criminals each month will win cash prizes up to £1,000."

4 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. And we thought it was bad in the US by gujo-odori · · Score: 1, Troll

    Wow, and to think that we thought things were bad in the US. Even Dick Cheney never dreamed of anything like this.

    I wonder who's snooping on the snoopers?

  2. Game Over by xdor · · Score: 0, Troll

    all ur base are belong to us

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 0, Troll

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Re:So we can't afford Patrolling Police Officers.. by node+3 · · Score: -1, Troll

    I did read the novel, but there's a big difference. The citizens in 1984 were never allowed to view surveillance, so they were never on an equal scale as the government.

    A difference that doesn't make a difference. It's almost as superfluous as saying, "unless your name is Winston, it's not exactly like 1984".

    And fundamentally this is what frightens people, that someone with an upper hand controlls you.

    Yes, some "party member" behind the screen. Only in this case, the "party member" is a volunteer citizen. This really isn't enough of a distinction to invalidate the entire comparison.

    When that upper hand is given to everyone the concept isn't the same, and you taking things out of context doesn't make it so.

    And finding differences here and there doesn't make the concept entirely different, either.

    Otherwise, all those in power have to do is do things slightly different from 1984 to make it difficult to the citizenry to oppose. Like the story (which I think was debunked, but I didn't look into it very far) about the plan to put cameras into thousands of British households. If you could disable the cameras for a time for privacy, or they didn't have microphones, or they weren't embedded in the televisions, etc., one could make an argument similar to yours.

    This is *very* much like 1984. Some of the details are different, but the overall tone of being watched ("fundamentally this is what frightens people", in your own words) is there.