Post #2068913

2026-04-20 15:47 UTC

In Prague the line between private and public space seems blurred. Like, a footpath ends and the only way to continue is to walk over what appears to belong to a private business, of course full of cameras all over. I'm a bit further from the center, with a lot of rich people in big homes. They all have huge fences and walls around their gardens, often with cameras on top, so they can still spy on what happens outside their walls. Sometimes they're so high up, you could think they want to know what happens in the entire street. Prague is one of the safest cities ever, so I really wonder how much of this is security and how much is curiosity. I mean, if you want to catch a burglar, you hang the camera down low so you can see their face. Of course the city has traffic cameras and there's police surveillance cameras in the center too, but at least you know what they're for. The fact that any random person or business can film you is more worrying imo. In NL, I'm staying in the North. I walk a lot. Instead of cameras, there are many curious people staring out of their windows :)

Replies (1)

@PierceTheBubble@lemmy.ml 2026-04-27 23:00

Ah okay, then I understand it's quite a contrast compared to the situation in Prague. My guess would be the cameras act as a deterrent, and may be used to alert if activity is detected near the fence. Community members (typically home and/or business owners) increasingly contribute to local surveillance initiatives as well; for neighborhoods a homeowner association (HOA) may lead its members to collaboratively surveil their neighborhood with privately owned cameras. This can also be seen in some shopping centers or industrial areas here in The Netherlands, while home surveillance is typically centered around monitoring front doors (including doorbell cameras) and driveways (typically mounted on garages). Traffic cameras are increasingly used by police too, similar to footage from (cloud connected) consumer cameras, and cameras operated by businesses or public organizations. All these seemingly separate systems are becoming increasingly interconnected, and that to me is pure nightmare fuel: the ability to be tracked from the streets into buildings, and from stationary objects into moving vehicles (also being monitored in real-time). I live up north too, and although I do agree it isn't immediately obvious, I have noticed an upward trend regarding camera surveillance (especially surrounding transportation infrastructure: traffic cameras, cameras at transit stations, cameras in and surrounding public transportation vehicles, etc.). The nice thing here in The Netherlands is that you can often stare back at them haha :)

Open ##2068914