IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2014 - 60

Fig. 3. Documenting the purpose(s) and properties of surveillance.

These requirements include high
visibility, a clear indication of the
installation's owner and operator, a
description of why the area is under
serveillance, and a description of
the installation's properties. This
indicates whether images are monitored or recorded, contact information for the individual responsible
for protecting personal information
captured by the cameras, as well as a
reference to the legislation that governs the handling of this information. Finally, a green pin is reserved
for installations that go significantly
beyond the minimum necessary
and demonstrate compliance with
the "spirit" of Canadian privacy
regulations. The color-coding aims
to provide the user with a sophisticated layering of information that is
at the same time easy to access and
understand.
When an individual notices a
video surveillance installation that
is not already represented in SurveillanceWatch, they may launch
the app and add a new "report,"
thereby engaging in an act of counter-surveillance (Fig. 2).
Each report includes a name
and description of the installation's owner, the location where
60

the pin should be placed (an installation which has multiple cameras
may in fact cover several hundred square meters), and whether
or not a surveillance notification
sign was clearly visible. users
may also upload photographs of
the site, report on the number of
cameras they have counted for this
installation, describe the spaces
those cameras are pointed at (e.g.
whether they are pointed at the
interior or exterior of a building),
and log a variety of characteristics of the notification sign (if one
exists), such as its relative visibility,
its stated purpose and properties,
and the text of the sign (Fig. 3).
The use of a map grants individuals insight into the ubiquity of video
surveillance cameras in certain public spaces. For example, the SurveillanceWatch map reveals six video
surveillance installations (and seven
unique cameras, as one of the installations has two cameras) covering
a 150 m stretch of Bloor St. West
in Toronto (from Walmer road to
Spadina road) (Fig. 4).
All seven of the cameras are
pointed at outdoor space, and
four of them are pointed directly
at the sidewalk. This area sees

substantial pedestrian traffic and
many hundreds of individuals
may have their personal information captured by these installations
every day. As three of these installations exhibited no signage, and
the cameras are relatively unobtrusive, the majority of passersby
are likely not aware that they are
within range of some of these
video surveillance cameras.
If a user wishes to learn more
about the video surveillance installations revealed through the SurveillanceWatch interface, they can
access more detail by tapping on
the installation's pin and then on
the owner's name (Fig. 5).
If they notice any missing or
inaccurate information, they may
edit the installation's details. The
"Details" screen is also a launch
point for further information about
"compliance," such as how it is
evaluated and assigned (Fig. 6).
Finally, the SurveillanceWatch
"list view" provides users with an
alternate view of the data. This is
sorted by owner name and thus
allows individuals to browse for
a particular owner, or to quickly
compare different implementations

Fig. 4. Cameras on Bloor St. West
in Toronto.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2014