[kuschku]

Depends on where you live. In Germany any CCTV recording of a public place is automatically illegal. There’s a handful of exceptions (for example, for the parliament), but generally, this holds true.

Opt-in is what’s legally required, and should be the default.

[alexro]

How can all the people passing before the camera to opt in?

[moron4hire]

That's rather much the point, they can't. Therefore the service would be illegal in Germany.

Sometimes things are illegal and you can't get around it. Just because the company spent a lot of effort on it doesn't mean anything.

[garrettlangley]

Alexro, there are clear and large signs about the cameras at the entrance to our neighborhoods.

Our neighborhoods are not large public roads, they are typically 100-400 home communities. You would never have to enter the community.

[kuschku]

Exactly. That’s why you don’t put up cameras in the first place.

[Danihan]

So only the government can record what's happening, and if private citizens or companies do so they are shamed and jailed?

[kuschku]

The government can’t do that either, they’s the point (except for a handful of rare exceptions).

The police can’t even film protests to identify protestors.

[Danihan]

You're saying the German government has no video cameras on any traffic intersections / public areas period?

[kuschku]

Unless there is a specific situation that there is a threat there, and a warrant for that situation, no.

For traffic situations there are specialized systems that open a physical filter in front of a camera lens only if someone is detected to be speeding, and the camera is then limited to that lane, for that short moment.