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Plug On Camera Cell Phones
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Nuclear replied on Wed Jan 15, 2003 @ 1:41am |
 Coolness: 2604180 | Hong Kong Gym Pulls Plug on Camera Cell Phones
Tue Jan 14, 9:22 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Doug Young HONG KONG (Reuters) - Warning: use of camera-equipped mobile phones could be hazardous to your health. That's the message going out from at least one chain of health clubs in Hong Kong, where a new generation of cell phones that can take and transmit video and still photos is raising concerns over a new crop of privacy-related issues. Physical, which operates nine gyms in the former British colony, recently posted signs in its Hong Kong facilities forbidding the use of mobile phones in locker rooms. "It's just some areas that are restricted for mobile phones," said Physical spokeswoman Miran Chan. "Some of these phones can be used as cameras. If someone uses a phone this way and takes a photo and puts it on the Internet, it's not very good for our members and their privacy." Analysts said the new policy at Physical is one of the first cases they have heard concerning a new generation of phones that are expected to make up a growing percentage of new handset sales in the years ahead. "I wouldn't say the privacy issues are new ones, but it's a matter of degree because these technologies are becoming easier to use," said Ian Sanders, managing director of the telecoms advisory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Fitness First, another Hong Kong chain that competes with Physical, is also considering a ban on cell phone use in some areas, said spokeswoman Anne She. "We are currently discussing this matter," she said. "We're in the process of deciding what sort of rules to implement in the locker rooms... I doubt that any members would (use their phones to take pictures of other members). But for the safety of everyone, we're working on some kind of policy to protect all our members right now." In nearby Macau, the use of the new camera-equipped cell phones has also become an issue for the territory's 11 casinos owned by magnate Stanley Ho, said Julie Fernandes, spokeswoman for Ho's company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau S.A. Fernandes said traditional cameras are now forbidden in the company's casinos, but that cell phones -- which are extremely popular in nearby Hong Kong -- have yet to be banned outright. "This is something new that's come up," she said. "We have inspectors watching. Should they find anyone using these phones, because it's just like a camera, they will delete whatever photos were taken." If the Internet is any indicator, however, privacy concerns will be less of an issue in China and Hong Kong than in the west, said Guo Liang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who has done studies on Internet privacy issues. "Chinese culture is quite different in this area (i.e. Internet privacy) from western culture," he said. "It's tradition. In the West, parents cannot check their children's diary. But in China it's quite common. They have to accept it.... Now some people are starting to be concerned, but it's not a very big issue." |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» julie_eaves replied on Wed Jan 15, 2003 @ 7:20pm |
 Coolness: 94470 | Garrets friend from bufalo had one
it was kinda cool |
Plug On Camera Cell Phones
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