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American Airlines Has Cameras In Their Screens Too (buzzfeednews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the time-to-buy-some-stickers dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: A viral photo showing a camera in a Singapore Airlines in-flight TV display recently caused an uproar online. The image was retweeted hundreds of times, with many people expressing concern about the privacy implications. As it turns out, some seat-back screens in American Airlines' premium economy class have them, too. Sri Ray was aboard an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 flight to Tokyo in September 2018 when he noticed something strange: a camera embedded in the seat back of his entertainment system. The cameras are also visible in this June 2017 review of the airline's premium economy offering by the Points Guy, as well as this YouTube video by Business Traveller magazine.

American Airlines spokesperson Ross Feinstein confirmed to BuzzFeed News that cameras are present on some of the airlines' in-flight entertainment systems, but said "they have never been activated, and American is not considering using them." Feinstein added, "Cameras are a standard feature on many in-flight entertainment systems used by multiple airlines. Manufacturers of those systems have included cameras for possible future uses, such as hand gestures to control in-flight entertainment." After Twitter user Vitaly Kamluk saw a similar lens on Singapore Airlines and tweeted photos of the system last week, the airline responded from its official Twitter account, saying the cameras were "disabled." Still, the airlines could quell passengers' concerns by covering the lenses with a plastic cover, if indeed there is no use for the camera.

3 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. privacy concerns? by c6gunner · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I'm honestly not worried in the slightest about someone having a video of me being bored and uncomfortable for 9 hours at a time. I guess if someone is really concerned about this they can always travel with a roll of electrical tape.

    1. Re:privacy concerns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Those of us who came out of the WWII period are greatly concerned about things like this. Today's citizens have been so spied on by everything from schools, to their computers, to their cell phones, to store cameras, they don't find anything wrong with their loss of privacy. I live to avoid being spied on, including using cash for everything. I at least still have my integrity, a private life, and a soul intact.

  2. Re:Well yeah... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Airlines saying:

    "No, no we're not using them"

    reminds of some sock puppet accounts here on Slashdot posting and saying:

    "No, no I am not creimer"

    The question is if they are not using them, who might be using them then? Why not simply cover them as suggested in TFS then?

    For sure, a simple cover would not constitute a enormous financial burden.