As I wrote in late February, the South Korea National Election Commission (NEC) has been asking Korean citizens to use cellular phones to document cases of possible election irregularities. The Commission has posted a video on its Web site that illustrates how a camera phone user could capture an election abuse.
According to an article from Northwestern University's Medill News Service published on Yahoo, "One video depicts two men in a car exchanging money when suddenly their facial expressions change from joy to panic.
"The scene widens and it becomes clear that you are watching the exchange through a camera phone. Someone with a mobile phone has just snapped a photo of the bribe and is dialing the electoral regulatory office to report it."
Safety issues
I am assuming the video is on the Korean version of the NEC site, although I couldn't find it. (Anyone read Korean who could find the URL to the video?)
As I wrote when I first discussed the NEC's efforts, this could place camera phone users in danger. If you photograph someone committing an illegal act, certainly violence could erupt.
I believe camera phones indeed will be used to document criminal activities around the world. However, I think it's probably only a matter of time before someone is hurt, killed or arrested.
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