Private life, professional life: are we being spied on? | M6 | Zone Interdite

Do we still have a private life? These days we are permanently being filmed and under surveillance… in the streets, at the office, but also at home, where discreet espionage is almost commonplace. So how can we defend ourselves against this? Can we protect ourselves against these intrusive software programs? How can we avoid having our photos or our messages being posted on the Internet without our consent? We investigated the excesses of extreme surveillance. Listening to, filming, and geo-locating friends or employees has become child’s play, at an easily affordable price. What is going on when every citizen becomes a spy? We followed Paul and Nicolas, two husbands addicted to conjugal spying. They listen to their wives by using spy software installed on their cell phones that was bought on the Internet for €200. However, illegally obtained evidence is not allowable before the courts.  So Paul called on the services of a private detective, Laurent de Chessé. 80% of his clients are employers. However, the principal danger comes from the Internet and social networks, where the trails we leave are impossible to control. Employees have already discovered that to their cost. Because they criticised their boss one evening on Facebook, some women were fired for gross misconduct. We also investigated in the USA to understand how 18 year-old Tyler Clementi killed himself after being filmed without his knowledge by his flat mates. And in the UK, “Internet Eyes” is causing a scandal. Its principle: volunteers watch video-surveillance images to report misdemeanours. If they see something suspicious they sound the alerts. The more alerts they send the more they are paid.