The 8GB spy pen video camera is a device that contains a camera on the tip of the pen. On the back of the camera stick is a USB port that can be connected to a computer so your video can be uploaded directly to the computer. The pencil camera has practical applications such as recording lectures, but it can also be used to record people without their realizing it. That aspect raises some ethical considerations about how pens are used.
Battery
The Pen Video Camera can only record for about 3 minutes per gigabyte with a limited battery life. Longer-lasting batteries take up too much space and won’t fit in a convincing pen.
People who write checks or dial a personal identification number at an ATM could have confidential information recorded by someone using an 8GB pen video camera according to the Florida League of Cities. However, the camera pen user should be very close as the video quality is not sharp enough to record fine print.
Privacy
The 8GB spy pen video camera raises a variety of ethical concerns, especially with regards to privacy. People who have conversations or participate in actions that they think are private can be recorded and that recording can be easily distributed to the web. For example, consenting adults to sexual encounters have recorded themselves using devices like these. It is illegal to record a conversation without the permission of the people involved in the conversation.
Stalking and sexual harassment
Those who discover that they have been recorded by a hidden camera of any kind may experience emotional trauma, according to the website Sexual Harassment Support. These cases are also subject to prosecution. The Independent of England reported an incident in April 2010 in which a university professor in Britain had to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to placing a mini camera in a women’s bathroom.
