Cameras Came to the Newsroom
I think not uproaring is a very rational response to the threat model:<p>- You already have little expectation of privacy at work. Your computer has a sysadmin account for the company, and probably <i>not</i> a sysadmin account for you. Your Springsteen tickets are logged and potentially cached in the printer&#x27;s memory. At most places, coworkers can see what you&#x27;re doing in person. So there&#x27;s no strong reason to expect more crackdown on occasional personal use of work time&#x2F;resources than there has been in the past.<p>- There are easy options (especially for people who get an NYT salary) for private work and private computing: doing things at home, using your cell phone (not on the corporate network, no corporate login, and probably too small to see on the cameras), taking a quick break to a nearby cafe, printing your tickets at FedEx, etc. (Many of those are much more anonymous than possible at work, e.g., leave your phone at your desk, email to printandgo@fedex.com from a throwaway account, and pay in coins.)<p>- The stated rationale—responding to violent attacks—makes sense, is quite worthwhile individually in expectation (even a slight reduction in your chance of getting killed is quite valuable), and if believed implies insufficient staffing to effect a panopticon. There&#x27;s probably just one security guard downstairs, at most.<p>- There&#x27;s other personally beneficial reasons to want cameras at work, e.g., helping you (whichever side you find yourself on!) in harassment claims. In particular I&#x27;d actively want low-resolution cameras, enough to identify people but not enough to read standard-sized text on paper or screen, covering every office or conference room with a door that closes.<p>My own workplace has cameras everywhere other than the bathrooms. We&#x27;re told this at orientation, and also told that nobody is actively watching them. This seems totally fine to me. If there were security cameras in the bathrooms &#x2F; privacy rooms &#x2F; etc., or in my apartment, or in hotel rooms, or anything else, that would be quite different.