this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2024
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Everyone seems concerned about what it could be doing, not what it is doing.
I could sit next to a vending machine and make notes on the gender and sex of each patron for demographic purposes, nothing would be illegal.
Why? Well, that's easy, I want to stock my vending machine in order to make money. Instead of testing different layouts which would take a lot of time, I could predict how well certain stock would do based on preexisting market research.
This appears to be just that, but with a camera.
Now, you can argue "but it could be worse"! That's not a valid argument. It could always be worse for things you don't know about. If it holds up to be true, as stated, it's just what it is.
Bad analogy. If you were doing what you said, but instead of taking notes, you were using a camera, you'd quickly get a visit from the UW Special Constable Service who'd probably transfer you to WRPS.
EDIT: Even if you were just taking notes on people, it's possible you'd experience the same process.
I'm not familiar with Canadian law, but in the States, I can film someone without their permission in public. I can't do certain things with that recording, but I can record them. In this case, I see it as just that. Recording, doing some instant analysis, recording non identifying metadata, and forgetting the recording.
That would make it gdpr compliant, at least.
People would be able to see you filming and maybe decide not to use that machine