Slashdot Mirror
Scottish Court Awards Damages For CCTV Camera Pointed At Neighbor's House (boingboing.net)
AmiMoJo quotes a report from BoingBoing: Edinburgh's Nahid Akram installed a CCTV system that let him record his downstairs neighbors Debbie and Tony Woolley in their back garden, capturing both images and audio of their private conversations, with a system that had the capacity to record continuously for five days. A Scottish court has ruled that the distress caused by their neighbor's camera entitled the Woolleys to $21,000 (17,000 British Pounds) in damages, without the need for them to demonstrate any actual financial loss. The judgment builds on a 2015 English court ruling against Google for spying on logged out Safari users, where the users were not required to show financial losses to receive compensation for private surveillance.
I can't see how this is anything other than a good thing.
There is a reasonable expectation of privacy on ones own property, and this was recording sound, not just video footage.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Autowin? I think the bit "capturing both images and audio of their private conversations" had a lot to do with it.
There are a few laws about recording conversations without consent.
Did the camera set their house on fire?
For years now they could not go outside without being monitored. For years they could not hold a private conversation either inside or outside the house. If you don't think that would cause distress, 1984 must be your idea of a really good time.