Ban on camera phones?

rediff.com has this message board article on how some Telugu Desam party member in the Rajya Sabha moved a private member bill in the House... "She demanded a ban on camera phones in public places arguing that these phones are increasingly being used to pry into private lives of people. She also wanted the legislation to regulate the use of such phones by children."

(I don't like rediff insisting on having a rediff id to be able to post comments, but I can certainly post my comments on my own blog!)

Being the proud owner of just such a phone, this does affect me personally. But more than that, I am filled with a sense of disbelief. Hello! Lady! Doesn't something not make sense here? "Private lives" of people and ban on camera phones in "public places"? Does she want to ban non-cellphone cameras in public places too? Do I have to wear blinkers in case I have a freaking photographic memory? Will I be allowed to sit on the roadside and paint what I see, or will that offend your sense of privacy too?

I can understand that if someone puts a camera into your house without your knowledge and permission, then it can be categorized under invasion of privacy. But then why target cellphones? Any old camera would suffice.

rediff's questions:

Now, does Geetha have a point here?

Of course she does. But it's not what she thinks it is.

Do you think the use of these latest gizmos in public places is a threat to your privacy?

I don't have any reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place. So, no, nothing is a threat to my privacy in a public place.

Or are these merely fun tools as their manufacturers would want us to believe?

Fun tools? I don't know. I rarely use the phone camera, it's quality is simply not good enough to take pictures that I want to keep. I do use it for casual photos, if I see something interesting or unusual on the road or if I make an unplanned trip and don't have a proper camera with me. That said, I have seen models becoming more powerful by the day and have read about one that actually has an optical zoom lens in the cellphone. Go figure. But all said and done, all cameras are fun tools for all of us who are not professional photographers, whether they are inside a cellphone or not.

And, also, should they come with the statutory warning, "Keep out of reach of children"?

I don't really have any opinion on that. I would certainly think twice before I gave anything that costly into a child's hands, but of course my concerns are probably not the same as those of the author of the article. I would have LOVED to have something like that when I was a kid. But then, I didn't have any opportunities to invade anyone's privacy, so such a phone would have not been of much use to cause offence. I do think however, that children could perhaps be taught about such gadgets and the possible ways that phones can be used and abused.

Come to think about it, some adults in the Rajya Sabha might possibly benefit from such instruction too..