Camera Phones Trigger Controversy Essay -- Communication Technology Ce

Camera Phones Trigger Controversy When Catherine Zeta Jones appeared in a television commercial, she was one of the first to advertise one of the newest additions to a cell phone: the camera phone. The purpose of the commercial was to show how convenient, compact and useful such an apparatus could turn out to be. The theory is quite simple, basically combining a cell phone and a digital camera into one gadget. Major cellular companies like Nokia, Samsung and Sanyo observed how popular digital cameras were becoming, and decided to integrate it with one device most Americans find a necessity and not a luxury; the cell phone. No sooner than the phones hit the market, did the stores sell out of the phone. In 2002 An estimated 16 million camera phones were sold worldwide, with 5 million of those being in the U.S. (strategyanalytics). The camera phone had become a hit. Not even a few months after the release of the phone did controversy hit. What appeared to be a harmless little tech device left some people feeling invaded. Apparently, the phones picture-taking ability was being exploited to covertly photograph individuals with out their consent. In addition to people, certain places could not be captured on disk that usually prohibit photography. This can then allow the picture taker to post these pictures on the internet, sell them, or blackmail people for favors. The question that then must be asked is how is a camera phone any different than any other form of surveillance where your picture is taken? This is a very difficult question to answer and one that will be addressed in a legal sense. After all, having your picture taken by a camera phone or by a hidden camera in a shopping mall could be the s... ...: Look At Me† Ctnow: Technology March 2, 2003 http://www.ctnow.com/technology/hc-camphones.artfeb,27,0,5168365 (2) Batista, Elisa. â€Å"New Privacy Menace: Cell Phones?† WiredNews March 3, 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,57692,00.html (3) Lacey, Eugene. â€Å"Smile! You’ve just been caught out on camera phone† ZDNet UK Febuary 28, 2003 http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t527-s2122702-pl,00.html (4) â€Å"STRATEGY ANALYTICS: 10 MILLION CELLULAR CAMERA PHONES SOLD WORLDWIDE THROUGH Q3 2002† March 3, 2003 http://www.strategyanalytics.com/press/PR00026.htm (5) Greenspan, Robin. â€Å"The digital imaging big picture† Cyberatlas Hardware March 2, 2003 http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/hardware/article/0,,5921_1546341,00.html (6) Jones, Rob. â€Å"Saudi phone ban may be lifted† vnunet March 4, 2003 http://www.vnunet.com/news/1337796