[HN Gopher] German ambulances uses QR code to avoid people takin...
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German ambulances uses QR code to avoid people taking photos of
accidentes
Author : mrweasel
Score : 33 points
Date : 2021-05-07 17:36 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
| [deleted]
| forgotpwd16 wrote:
| I guess default camera apps have built-in QR recognition
| nowadays? Else this won't have been useful. Asking as I've always
| used Open Camera, which doesn't, and Barcode Scanner, when I need
| this functionality.
| lol768 wrote:
| Pointing the phone at a QR code doesn't do anything on my Pixel
| 5 using the built-in camera app.
|
| Further, I can't even scan the colourful QR codes in the video
| even with a dedicated barcode scanning app.
|
| Seems like a useless concept.
| carlita_express wrote:
| iOS has had this functionality for a while now, but android is
| a lot more diverse
| itslennysfault wrote:
| The default camera on my android does this plus way more. It
| attempts to do OCR. So if I point it at a QR code it'll parse
| it. If there is a url or phone number it'll be clickable.
| Addresses can open google maps. Etc.
|
| It's honestly super impressive, and I noticed it at least 3
| years ago on android.
| bellyfullofbac wrote:
| According to this https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208843 ,
| it also just shows a notification on iOS, but I guess a URL
| that tells the camera holder they're being idiots would be
| good enough.
|
| I just tried scanning a QR Code on 2 Android phones. The
| first one didn't do anything automatic, the second one
| detected it and added a button on the camera UI, if you press
| it, it will show the text (or URL) and you have to press
| "Open URL" to go there.
|
| Interesting how the ad (YouTube video) oversells it, as if
| the URL loads itself. I wonder if that's how the ad agency
| (or whoever came up with this idea) sold it to the ambulance
| operators.
| kardos wrote:
| We are not far from cameras performing facial recognition and
| refusing to take photos of those on a "no photo list".
| Gravyness wrote:
| If big smartphone companies like google or apple decided they
| could do this literally tomorrow.
| blueking wrote:
| The rationale over decency and empathy for victims is a cover.
| What this does is prevent government workers from the
| accountability cellphone video can provide. Soon enough those QR
| codes will be on uniforms of emergency workers, and you won't be
| able to document incidents similar to George Floyd's death.
| estaseuropano wrote:
| You are applying your views and preconceptions to this
| situation without understanding the cultural context.
|
| Privacy rights are very strong in Germany and most people hate
| gawkers/voyeurs that take photos in such situations. Similarly
| as it is an offense to name either suspect or victim of a crime
| in the media, while in America that is common practice.
|
| And courts have leeway - the justice system is not perfect but
| if you take a film to show an officer/medical staff abusing
| someone no court will punish you for that.
| blueking wrote:
| Sure but you won't be able to take the video, because the QR
| code will shut down your cell phone camera.
|
| Government workers need to be accountable and transparent. No
| hiding from the cameras in public service.
|
| Passing a law that protects the government from
| accountability under the guise of citizen rights is pretty
| underhanded, and quite typical of socialism.
| olliej wrote:
| That last sentence displayed your preconceptions and biases
| very clearly.
|
| America has an array of similar or even more abusive laws
| and it's clearly not socialist.
| kybernetyk wrote:
| >and it's clearly not socialist.
|
| [citation needed]
| detaro wrote:
| ... you do understand that on any phone you can just not click
| the "QR code" notification? But of course reminding people to
| not be shitheads is "preventing accountability"...
| _Microft wrote:
| As a German, this is such a strange thing to read. This
| basically does not happen here. It is actually newsworthy when
| a police man had to shoot someone. There were, maybe, twelve
| people killed by police officers in 2020 (per ~83 million
| inhabitants!). Beside that, it's also fine to film police
| officers on duty? You might want to come over for a visit - it
| is actually really nice here.
|
| (And fyi, on top of not being rooted in (German) reality, this
| was a slippery slope argument anyways.)
|
| Edit: fourteen shot and three other deaths, according to [0].
| Sadly this included two children and her police officer mother
| in a murder-suicide situation. That's why I am generally very
| glad that weapons aren't available to everyone here - you can't
| shoot yourself if you have no gun.
|
| [0]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforc...
| blueking wrote:
| Oh I'm sorry you're a German living in a utopia? This clearly
| doesn't apply to you. You should just do whatever your
| government tells you. Turn off the camera, hand over the guns
| and get on the train. Everything will be Ok.
| [deleted]
| JorgeGT wrote:
| Knights Hospitaller: from escorting pilgrims in 1099 Jerusalem to
| cleverly thwarting modern smartphones' cameras in 2021. I wonder
| what they will be doing in Mars in the year 3000.
| kybernetyk wrote:
| What happened to freedom of the press?
| phendrenad2 wrote:
| This is a good point and I don't know why you're being
| downvoted. When an individual with a cellphone no longer counts
| as "press" you're just edging closer to governments getting to
| select who gets to be called "press" and gets the corresponding
| privileges.
| randomhodler84 wrote:
| Translated: "But gawking is not a trivial offense. Since January
| 1, 2021, a law has been in force that punishes photographing or
| filming an accident with a prison term of up to two years. With
| their action, the Johanniter show the drastic consequences and
| dangers of the greed for sensation and explain the punishments."
|
| I find this very heavy handed. What harm is simply photographing
| an accident scene, as long as you are not causing disruption.
| There was a recent case in .au where a guy filmed a several cops
| dying from a truck accident and taunting them (they were trying
| to give him a ticket when hit by another truck driver). He was
| sentenced to 10 months for breaking public decency.
| bbu wrote:
| > what harm is simply photographing an accident scene, as long
| as you are not causing disruption
|
| Because it always causes disruption.
| ajcp wrote:
| I agree it does come off as extreme, but I can understand the
| desire to provide society with some reasonable expectation of
| privacy in a public space when someone might no longer be able
| to consent to being in public.
|
| Sure, it's part of the inherent risk calculation when we
| venture out or interact with public space, but at the same time
| if I can no longer remove myself from that space when I want to
| achieve some privacy I think it's reasonable that society
| change the context of the space. At that point I would think
| that laws pertaining to the violation of privacy (like those
| regarding peeping-toms) should apply.
|
| That being said, and going back to the "no longer consent to
| being in public", what about drunks, or children who cannot
| legally exercise consent? There's a million ways this can get
| very hazy very fast.
| detaro wrote:
| Reasonable expectation of privacy applies by default to
| photos in public in Germany (with exceptions at events,
| public interest/press, ...).
| dr_faustus wrote:
| Your translation is not correct, it says "filming the victims
| of an accident". So presumably filming an accident from a
| distance (where the victim cannot be identified and you are not
| in the way of the rescue workers) is not illegal.
| terminalserver wrote:
| " What harm is simply photographing an accident scene"
|
| Decency, respect, empathy, kindness and consideration for
| others.
|
| Put another way, what sort of person would photograph an
| accident scene except a sociopathic ghoul who gets pleasure
| from seeing people hurt?
| phendrenad2 wrote:
| This is the death by a thousand papercuts you get when you open
| the door to an area of regulation. Likely more things will be
| illegal to film in Germany soon, such as police activity ("it's
| for national security, you know?")
| eska wrote:
| I wish you had translated the first two medics' statements:
|
| The first one reports arriving at a bridge where somebody was
| about to commit suicide by jumping. A whole group of people
| started filming it.
|
| The second one reports that he's experienced people reaching
| over his shoulder with their phone to get a better view
| boublepop wrote:
| > What harm is simply photographing an accident scene
|
| These days a "good" accident scene video will get you a ton of
| view on social media which translates to a lot of money. If
| someone crashes and is dying bleeding out on the road, the
| financial indentures for passers by is to stop straight away,
| increasing the risk of further accidents, and rushing to the
| scene to get the best possible shot of the dying person.
|
| I honestly cannot see the problem in just removing that whole
| tangent completely by making it illegal.
|
| The only proper action at a scene of an accident is to help out
| if possible or get the hell out of the way.
| bellyfullofbac wrote:
| The infamous German tabloid/gutter press Bild also pays you
| money for videos or photos and credit you as "citizen
| journalist". Similarly news agencies ask you on Twitter if
| they can use your footage.
| iMarv wrote:
| Might be something about empathy. If you got into a car
| accident and were lying on the street with a removed limb,
| would you like random strangers taking photos of you?
| ultrarunner wrote:
| There are a lot of things I would like and not like, some of
| them more reasonable than others. If government is intended
| to prevent violation of rights, 'not liking' being
| photographed in public seems a poor justification for
| imprisoning someone.
| detaro wrote:
| Germany takes personal rights in such situations a lot more
| serious than other countries. E.g. you can't just take
| pictures of other people in public either - extra penalty
| for accident victims just expands on that due to extreme
| circumstances and their helplessness (and gives police the
| power the act immediately, vs the victim that might not
| even know having to pursue it afterwards)
| 1cvmask wrote:
| Imprisoning photographers of the police is a already a
| punishable crime in France. So do we call the leaders like
| Macron an autocrat or dictator like we do in other
| countries.
|
| https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201121-new-french-
| law-b...
|
| Meanwhile cops and national guardsman violently attack
| journalists and protestors and their phones in all the
| protests ranging from Ferguson, Baltimore in the Obama era
| to the George Floyd ones in the summer under Trump era.
|
| https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-
| md-p...
|
| https://www.vox.com/2014/8/19/6047123/nearly-a-third-of-
| thos...
|
| https://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-
| journalists-a...
|
| https://www.insider.com/117-journalists-arrested-or-
| detained...
|
| https://cpj.org/2020/08/charges-remain-against-
| journalists-a...
|
| The journalists and citizen journalists are under constant
| attack.
| estaseuropano wrote:
| Germany is not France. No German court will not punish
| you for filming an officer abusing a
| civilian/protestor/etc. But you will be punished for
| taking a gore video of someone dying.
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(page generated 2021-05-07 23:02 UTC)