Monitoring camera feeds not for public viewing

Someone recently uploaded the feed from monitoring cameras stationed at schools and hospitals on domestic video-sharing website bilibili.com. After a news outlet reported about this violation of privacy, the managers at bilibili.com responded on Sunday saying they had removed the videos in question.

However, the matter should not end there. As some snapshots that are still floating online show, the reported video clips showed teachers taking classes, nurses at work and hotel staff members attending to guests. It is worth asking how those who uploaded the videos gained access to monitoring camera feeds.

Some argued that the video clips were from public spaces. However anyone making public videos of people without taking their consent might be violating their right to privacy.

Monitoring cameras are often hidden and the fact that the feed is being leaked shows there might be vested interests involved. Earlier, there were reports of travelers finding hidden cameras in hotel rooms and of people selling user accounts on social networking sites to watch monitoring camera feeds.

And the feeds come in various categories－from public places, hotels, bedrooms and even toilets－all of which point to the involvement of a racket.

All this reeks of the plot of the movie The Truman Show, where an insurance salesman discovers one day that his whole life has become a reality TV show.

Individuals' privacy calls for stricter protection. And that can be done only with the cooperation of all the parties involved. Video-sharing platforms must recruit more employees to keep a close eye on what is being uploaded, so that no sensitive content is shared or goes viral.

The police must crack down on illegal interest chains and punish those committing such illegal deeds, so that nobody dares to do it again. Internet companies should develop software that can detect videos having content that should not go public. That will help ensure that monitoring camera feeds do not get into the wrong hands.