A quote in an article in iafrica.com about camera phones and privacy got me thinking about who -- individuals, organizations, government bodies, etc. -- should issue guidelines about correct usage of camera phones. A quote by a Motorola spokesperson, Alan Buddendeck, got me thinking.
Buddendeck says, "Motorola, like other companies, hopes its products would be used in ways that are legal, ethical and moral, but it's not for Motorola to issue guidelines for appropriate use. You expect consumers to use good sense and judgment, respect people's rights and comply with local laws."
If not Motorola, who? Other handset vendors? Cellular operators? Digital camera and wireless trade associations? Local government organizations? Corporations? Schools?
Start thinking or deal with the consequences
"Oh, no," says Motorola. "We just refine the plutonium. We don't need to develop any guidelines for how it's used after it leaves our factory." Okay, I'm being melodramatic here. But you get the point.
Corporations, schools, health clubs, even countries are banning camera phones. The wireless industry has been incompetent in addressing the "dark side" of camera phones. Indeed, it seems that every quote from a handset vendor or a cellular operator about this issue is along the lines of Buddendeck's.
Suggesting guidelines generates a dialogue. They're not written in stone. But no one in the wireless industry seems to be doing much, except to speak in platitudes. While the industry sits on its hands, others are posting regulations and passing laws.
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