How to add a camera

2013-05-11T20:50:33Z

In the street

You've spotted a camera. Write down this information:
The location (street number, intersection, etc.)
The type (dome, box, exposed, etc.)
The owner, if you know it (city, bank, shop, etc.)

You can also take photos of the cameras. Ideally, take a close shot and large shot like this. The photos will help us identify the equipment and add more information.
If some information is missing, don't hesitate to add a comment when registering the camera. Somebody else may be able to complete the information.
Feel free to "mark" the reported camera visibly, with a sticker for example.

On the website
Register an account on the Web site. (It takes less than a minute.) The "power" button, located on the top-right, allows you to register and log in.
1. Give a name to your camera, such as the name of the neighborhood where it is located, an intersection, or a building. If you find several cameras in the same street or area, you can add a number to the name (e.g., Mercer Street 1, Mercer Street 2, etc.).
2. If you took pictures of the camera, you can upload them by using the form located on the left of the page (Add an image or a document).
3. Enter the technical data.
Find the location of your camera on the map. When you've have it, click the "Point on the map" button. The camera will appear on the map immediately. You can adjust its position if necessary by clicking Move the camera.
Set the appearance of the camera.
Orient the camera by clicking Direction.
Estimate the angle of the camera (if it's not a dome), and enter that information by clicking Angle/Ground.
4. Enter the social data. This defines the camera operator and the target of the surveillance (population, traffic, buildings, etc.).
5. Click Save to submit the camera to the moderating team. In the meantime, you can still modify the information you submitted by clicking Modify this camera.

If you have any trouble listing a camera, let us know in the discussion forum (located below).

Users can also:

complete the missing data (pictures, owner...) or correct inaccuracies (each camera has its own page : you can access it by clicking on the camera and then on the "more info" button);

contribute to the web review about video surveillance, by submitting articles you've spotted on other websites (news, actions against CCTV technologies, etc.);

signal bugs or suggest improvements;

spread the word about the project, create posters, spray paint to publicize the website.

Developers can also contribute to the website's development and collect data about CCTV cameras for other websites.

About the project

2013-04-26T05:15:28Z

On the streets, on public transportation, in front of shops and schools, in residential neighborhoods, surveillance cameras are multiplying. They register our daily routines while constantly improving their technology and intensifying their control.

In this context, the Sous-Surveillence.net project offers a tool for resistance. We make it possible for any city to easily create a local website mapping the locations of surveillance cameras, both public public and private, that are capturing and storing public space.

This mapping project is participatory, collaborative, and accessible from anywhere. It makes the proliferation of cameras visible while collecting as much information as possible about them. You can make this web site your own, a tool to resist, act, participate, share ideas, report back to others, and consult the latest announcements — all to reclaim the urban space that belongs to you.

Starting in Lyon, France, and spreading across France and elsewhere in Europe, the Sous-Surveillance.net project has now reached Seattle, Washington, USA. This site was launched in collaboration with the Seattle Privacy Coalition, a local advocacy group fighting for transparent government and protections for personal privacy. If your city is filling up with surveillance cameras and this makes your nervous, we invite you to get involved with our world-wide mapping project. Better yet, become one of its organizers! Start your own map for your own city! It's your turn to resist needless surveillance, and we can help. You can reach us through contact@seattleprivacy.org.