A promo video from Pinkroccade, a prominent IT contractor to Dutch local governments, makes the case for spying on wearables (if your heart-rate rises because you’re about to be mugged, the police could be alerted, and get GPS from your phone, find nearby phones belonging to people with criminal records, check the view from your Google Glass, and respond — case closed).
Following outrage from the press, the company doubled down on its video, saying it was not meant to be interpreted by lay people and that you have to be an expert to understand why it isn’t creepy as all fuck.
Dennis writes,
It sounds like a Doctorow-novel. But here’s the weird part: this video actually is a serious pitch. It’s made by a big company called PinkRoccade, which is already an important ICT-advisor for Dutch local governments.
After the (shortlived) outrage in Dutch media, they’re not backing down one bit, saying the video was actually only intended for ‘professionals in the field of shared data’. In an attempt to downplay, they added a spotlight to the original Youtube video (which is without subtitles, but can be found here) which roughly translates to: “PinkRoccade Local Government thinks that citizens should control what data they share with companies and governments”
Dutch media about this video:
* First site to have a reaction of PinkRoccade
* Criticism on national public radio
* On the frontline of the outrage
Sidenote/disclaimer: I personally subtitled the video and the best way to do that was to re-upload on Youtube. I want the world outside The Netherlands to see this. Please feel free to share, mirror, host or whatever.
Bizarre video: gemeente geadviseerd mee te gluren via wearables