As more and more dissidents use YouTube as a
way to communicate with the world, anonymity and privacy are primary issues
they have to be careful. Therefore, the new service YouTube released Wednesday attracted everyone.
YouTube’s new face blurring tool is under the category of
enhancement tool. Once users upload the videos, they can apply the face
blurring function and then get previews before sharing with the world.
YouTube policy associate Amanda Conway, wrote in the
official blog that “Whether you want to
share sensitive protest footage without exposing the faces of the activists
involved, or share the winning point in your 8-year-old’s basketball game without
broadcasting the children’s faces to the world, our face blurring technology is
a first step towards providing visual anonymity for video on YouTube.”
However, YouTube’s face blurring
tool still has a loophole needed to be addressed. Users cannot choose who to blur; every person gets blurred in the footage.
“This is emerging technology, which means it sometimes has difficulty detecting faces depending on the angle, lighting, obstructions and video quality,” Conway explained. “It’s possible that certain faces or frames will not be blurred. If you are not satisfied with the accuracy of the blurring as you see it in the preview, you may wish to keep your video private.”
“This is emerging technology, which means it sometimes has difficulty detecting faces depending on the angle, lighting, obstructions and video quality,” Conway explained. “It’s possible that certain faces or frames will not be blurred. If you are not satisfied with the accuracy of the blurring as you see it in the preview, you may wish to keep your video private.”
YouTube’s face
blurring tool stems from a group of lobbyists, trying to protect themselves
while delivering their messages.
"We are at an evolution point where pictures and video are the most powerful ways to get our stories across, but people need to have the option to protect themselves," said Sam Gregory, program director of Witness, which provides support to people who use video for human rights work.
"We are at an evolution point where pictures and video are the most powerful ways to get our stories across, but people need to have the option to protect themselves," said Sam Gregory, program director of Witness, which provides support to people who use video for human rights work.
Keith
Wagstaff, a contributor of TIME’s Techland, wrote that the footage of the Arab Spring shot by citizens from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya didn’t occupy the major
news but spread fast via websites like YouTube and Facebook, winning lots of
support from around the world.
“Still, the fact that YouTube, by far the world’s biggest video-sharing site, is implementing this technology before anyone else is good news for democracy activists.” Wagstaff wrote.
“Still, the fact that YouTube, by far the world’s biggest video-sharing site, is implementing this technology before anyone else is good news for democracy activists.” Wagstaff wrote.
In addition, more than a third of all news video on YouTube was filmed by a bystander, noted Pew Research.
YouTube is playing an increasingly large role as a news
source around the world, and it hopes the blurring face tool will encourage
people to share video more widely without putting themselves at risk.
Image: Mashable
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