Post #2068896

2026-04-20 06:49 UTC

I'm in the Netherlands right now. You may have a different perspective if you're a car owner, but I really noticed I'm not being spied on as much. I believe it's not really allowed for a private person to film a public street neither, and I simply don't see any cameras. I live in Prague. When I go for a walk there, there's hundreds of cameras following me. It's like every home has at least one camera and they're not just filming their own property. It feels uncomfortable: you never know who's watching or what's done with the footage.

Replies (1)

@PierceTheBubble@lemmy.ml 2026-04-20 15:04

Surveillance surrounding car infrastructure is the most notable currently, but every larger public transportation hub has cameras all over too, together with on-board cameras in pubic transit vehicles, which are monitored in real time (despite moving around constantly). Perhaps you could give me a generalized description of your whereabouts and your activity, so I have a little bit more context on your surroundings. And yes, like I mentioned, it's technically not allowed to have private cameras facing the public space, but without enforcement, you might as well not have it (or actually incentivizes people to hide them). I'm quite interested in your experience in Prague, and would love to hear more about it. From your description it seems cameras in Prague are very apparent, which I consider to be a good thing. Whereas in The Netherlands surveillance systems are often installed to be unobtrusive; including those installed by authorities or businesses (which are typically recording the store's entrance; and as a "by-product" the public space; and dome-style cameras are increasingly placed in public retail areas too: mounted (typically in groups) on poles, or to exterior of buildings).

Open ##2068912