Compared to some countries, Germany has relatively little surveillance in public places. Although there are some surveillance cameras in busy areas such as city centers and train stations, in general, surveillance equipment is not as widespread in Germany as in other countries.
This also leads to the fact that when there are frequent public security incidents recently, the police always delay in finding the suspect because there is no evidence clues such as monitoring. For this reason, some German scholars and politicians have criticized the lack of security monitoring in public places in Germany, and called for increasing the number of surveillance in public places and introducing artificial intelligence monitoring systems.
The CDU (CDU), for example, said in a parliamentary election, "We want citizens to feel safe in our country." Therefore, the amount of video surveillance in busy public places and crime hotspots should be increased. ”
Some German criminologists agree that one of the advantages of video surveillance is that it can give citizens a sense of security, because it makes it easier to identify crimes and deter potential criminals. In addition, surveillance can preserve evidence directly and in real-time in the event of any crime, reducing the stress of the judicial process.
But these calls have also been widely criticized.
For example, the German political parties Piratenpartei Deutschland and Die Linke, which focus on online freedom, digital privacy, knowledge sharing, and transparent government, argue that "even more surveillance will only give citizens a false sense of security." It neither increases the detection rate nor prevents crime. The focus is on surveillance that violates citizens' privacy and information security. ”
Should there be more surveillance in public places? Why are the Germans arguing about this?
There are historical reasons why Germans are relatively cautious and conservative about surveillance. The Germans experienced mass surveillance and persecution during the Nazi period in the first half of the 20th century. In Nazi Germany, the dictatorship tracked, monitored, and suppressed political dissidents, religious groups, and minorities through extensive surveillance. These lessons of history have made Germans particularly sensitive to the protection of individual freedoms and privacy.
In addition, German culture emphasizes the dignity and independence of the individual, and individual rights are considered inviolable, including the right to privacy and freedom. These values have influenced attitudes in Germans towards excessive interference in the lives of individuals by the government or other institutions, especially through surveillance. Therefore, in the field of surveillance, Germans may be more concerned about the potential risk of abuse than just about the security benefits of surveillance.
As a result, increasing surveillance in public places requires a very complex vetting process, such as:
1. Confirm that the purpose of the installation must be for public safety and that it is necessary to do so
2. A conspicuous warning sign must be posted next to the monitoring probe
3. The storage and viewing of monitoring must be regulated
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If an individual violates Germany's European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by installing surveillance in public, the person responsible may face a fine of more than 20,000 euros, and if the individual's portrait rights are violated, such as illegally disseminating the person's likeness in surveillance, the person may be sentenced to one year in prison.
Of course, not only surveillance, but also if you want to pick up your mobile phone in a public place in Germany to take pictures, you must also carefully choose the occasion and object of the photo. For example, taking photos of children requires extra care to ensure that children's rights and privacy are not violated. In some cases, consent from a parent or guardian may be required. Including in some sensitive occasions, such as hospitals, clinics, churches, funerals, etc., taking photos may be rejected or even reprimanded by others.
Do you support increased policing in public places in Germany?
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Reference: www.dr-datenschutz.de; www.keyed.de