Home surveillance cameras in Libya: "Between respecting privacy and the need for personal security" A case study

Abstract

The balance between personal security and the right to privacy is essential and must be taken into consideration when using home surveillance cameras. Irresponsible use, unregulated within a legal and ethical framework, may lead to the violation of these rights and harm to others.

This study examines the phenomenon of the spread of home surveillance cameras in Libyan society as a response to current security challenges, focusing on the debate between enhancing personal security and preserving the sanctity of privacy. Through an applied approach, this research seeks to monitor citizens' motives for installing these systems and the extent of their impact on social relations and neighborhoods in light of the absence of deterrent legal legislation regulating their use. The results reveal a gap between the urgent need for protection and the transgressions that may affect the freedoms of others as a result of the random direction of the cameras. The study concludes with the necessity of balancing the right to security with the ethical and social controls imposed by the conservative nature of Libyan society, and it recommends enacting clear laws that regulate visual surveillance technologies to ensure that they do not turn from a means of protection into a tool for violating privacy.