Charish Baluyut

ERWC
Mr. Harrison
June 10, 2014
Writing Task #4
Privacy is important to every Americans. We complain when we feel that it is taken away
from us. However, how can we complain if the government itself is the ones who are invading
our privacy? George Orwell predicted in his novel, 1984, that our society will soon be a
totalitarian government. He describes the way how Big Brother used Telescreen to monitor the
citizen. People are in constant surveillance by Big Brother. Is it really necessary for the
government to watch us? Nowadays, public officials are using close-circuit television (CCTV) to
monitor the security of the place such us streets, mall, park, road, and other public places. It
serves as their eye to catch anyone who violates the laws or to solve various crimes. The use of
CCTV and Telescreen may raise privacy concerns, but we should be aware of their purposes. I
am confident to say that we are still far from Orwells prediction about the government.
In 1984, Big Brother used the Telescreen to monitor each houses of its citizen.
According to George Orwell, Telescreen is an instrument could be dimmed, but there is no way
of shutting it off distinguishable.(6) By using it, they can send out or receive images, show
propaganda while actively monitoring their action. Telescreen is similar to personal computer
because most houses have it. Often times, it is on throughout the day. People are in constant
watch. Every move is seen by Big Brother, and one unwanted move may result to serious
punishment. Big Brother used Telescreen to control people to follow its rule. Their purpose of
using the Telescreen is for their own interest. Also, people will not have any rights to questions
and to stop it.
Big Brother Is Watching You (1) is a slogan and/or propaganda used by Big Brother to
remind the people that their move are being watch. The slogan used by Big Brother can be
compared to many billboards, posters, and any other form of advertising. It is like a warning to
every citizen that the government is in constant patrol to anyone who commits crime or wants to
abolish the government. In todays generation, government is using the Closed-circuit television
(CCTV) to monitor the surroundings and to provide safety to the community. Since the police
are not always around to protect us from criminals. CCTV cameras served as their eye in public
places. In this case, both Telescreen and CCTV are used to watch the citizen.
Closed-circuit television cameras have many uses. First, many crimes that happened in
public places are able to solve through the use of video footage from CCTV. Robbery is
considered as the problem of some business companies. If businesses have CCTV cameras, it
will be easier for the police to make actions. The recorded crime scene can be used as primary
evidence which can potentially help them to solve the crime and to determine the suspect.
Additionally, public officials are now using security cameras installed in the road to catch any
traffic violators. Also, it prevents criminal actions from happening. Through the advancement of
the technology, police are now using cameras with face recognition to catch known fugitives.
Charlie Savage of the New York Times states that, The system would help match faces in a
crowd with names on a watch list whether in searching for terrorism suspects at high-profile
events like a presidential inaugural parade, looking for criminal fugitives in places like Times
Square or identifying card cheats in crowded casinos. It is indeed a useful tool for the police.
The CCTV camera has been a valuable tool for public officials. It makes their task easier.
Instead of finding the clue that would lead them to the suspect, they just have to review the
recorded video to recognize the face of the suspect. However, there are some controversies
behind using law enforcement cameras. First, it raises privacy concern from the citizens. People
feel that they are being watched and judge in some way by the public officials. Thomas Jefferson
once said that citizens have unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. In
this case, how can someone pursuit their happiness if they are being watched? What happen to
citizens freedom to do what they want? Another worry is the misidentification of the suspect.
How reliable is the camera? According to Tami Abdullah, Most law enforcement leaders and
civil liberties advocates believe the cameras will ultimately help officers because the devices
give them a way to record events from their point of view at a time when citizens armed with cell
phones are actively scrutinizing their every move. Some officers have their own way of
recording the scenes and interpreting it. They can be bias especially on criminals that are on the
watch-list.
One major concern of the public citizen about the use of CCTV camera is the invasion of
privacy. People believe that installed camera in public places are violating their rights, and that
we are being watched by Big Brother. As a result, their actions are becoming limited because
they know that their every move is being recorded. In this case, is banning the law enforcement
camera in public places will solve this issue? Does privacy more important than security? I bet
not. However, I do believe that security camera have limitations. It becomes invasive when
public officials will record every conversation we have to others and use it against us. This is
considered as abuse of power. Also, there should not be any cameras in the public restrooms. It
will surely raise concern of videotaping of humans private parts instead of monitoring security.
The appropriate place where security camera should be placed is in places where accidents often
occur like streets, roads, and parking lot. Also, in public places like mall, park, bank and
groceries, CCTV cameras are necessary because those places are usually the center of the crime
due to the number of people present.
Privacy is a right that we are guaranteed under the constitution. It is valued by every
Americans. However, in public places, there is no room for privacy. When we are in a public
space, we are in the eye of the public. There are people around us who may watch us from afar.
In these places, we will never know who the good and bad guys are. If we have nothing to hide,
then we have nothing to worry about. Besides the police will not disclose those recorded video
to the public unless it is necessary to the case. People should be aware that the primary reason of
CCTV cameras is to lessen the criminal act and not for personal use. In contrast, Big Brother
uses Telescreen to control and manipulate peoples activity. They are intruding the privacy of
every citizen at their own interest. They want every people to act accordance to their will. Both
CCTV and Telescreen can invade the privacy of the citizens, but the purpose of public officials
or the government now is to provide safety and not to control the people.
Privacy and security is valued by everyone. It is important. However, it is hard to have
both without suffering the other. Some people believe that using CCTV cameras are invasion of
their privacy, and we are closed to Orwells predictions about our society. If Big Brother is really
watching us, people have the power to stop it. They can use the Bill of Rights to protect their
privacy. They can also organize people power because it is so powerful that it can over throw the
government. Our world is far from being Orwellian world because we have our written law that
cannot be overrun by anyone or by any means.
Works Cited
Abdullah, Tami. "Officers Fear Body Cameras Raise Privacy Concerns."PoliceOne.com. N.p.,
03 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 May. 2014.
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings
for College Writers. By Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. 262-65.
Print.
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classic, 1949. Print.
Savage, Charlie. "Facial Scanning Is Making Gains in Surveillance." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 May. 2014.