Paphos People

Smart cameras have been installed in “sensitive” areas, such as parks and squares, with more on the way – pending a green light from personal data commissioner Irene Loizidou Nicolaidou.

Nicosia municipality is understood to be waiting to activate cameras in Eleftheria Square, the Makariou-Stasikratous-Evagorou business centre, Kallipoleos avenue, Kyriakou Matsi avenue, and other busy locations.

The stated aim of the cameras is to collect data on the frequency of pedestrians, vehicles, and bicycles for statistical purposes to guide city planning and policies. They will also help ensure compliance with EU funded projects.

For example, Nicosia municipality wishes to install cameras along streets in the old city to monitor low-emission areas.

The cameras will record the individual and average speed of vehicles. They will also assist the state in license plate recognition – seen as key to policing areas where only certain vehicles are allowed, such as Makarios avenue. The revamped Makarios avenue has lanes reserved for buses, taxis and local residents, but that has currently proven too much to enforce without the added technology.

Indeed, the camaras for Makarios avenue have already been purchased but cannot be activated until the legislation is tweaked and the green light is given by the personal data commissioner.

The data commissioner has been quizzing the local authorities since December and is now awaiting a response before a decision is taken as to whether the cameras are in violation of the public’s personal data, daily Phileleftheros reported.

It added that the cameras within this context – not just for traffic or speed controls – are to be installed across all cities.

Nicosia municipality first announced the high-tech cameras covering public spaces back in February 2022, explaining that it has done so under the “Smart Cities” plan.

According to the European Commission, smart cities are places where “traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital solutions for the benefit of its inhabitants and business.

“It also means a more interactive and responsive city administration, safer public spaces and meeting the needs of an ageing population,” the commission said.

At the time, the municipality said that only once it has been given the green light will the cameras be activated, at which point the appropriate signs to inform the public will also be installed.

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Told you.

And for all the happy clappy proponents of being smart cities (and Paphos the champion) you have just sold your families future. Its coming and the issues you ridiculed as conspiracy before are fact.

And if you are happy to live in the controlled sterile package presented to you then please move to a different planet. Leave us alone.

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

Yes tanny quite so . Good thing they have 5g and optic data cables now ! As a result they have enormous bandwidth to upload pictures of where you are and what your doing , track you with your smart phone log all you card purchases, even track some cars with their gps . If you dont follow the party line then they can do what evervthey want with you as you entire existance is electronically available , you can just be deleted ! Call me a fool , call me a conspiracy theory nutter but it is coming and most just dont see it .

And the new VTN technology for those with ev's and high end electrics are a cancelling looking you in the face.

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

I try to stay ‘under the radar’ as much as possible.
(I don’t have an Android / iPhone, I still use a Motorola Razr flip phone from 2003)


I only have 1 plastic card to make withdrawals from ATM’s, I never pay anything with the card.

I have NO ‘smart’ technology in the house.

I do not have GPS in the car

The camera and microphone on my laptop are disconnected.

Apart from this forum, I don’t do ‘social media’.

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Alan Wainright was a Luddite, a Technophobe. He didn’t know the origin of the words but was aware that he was well known to all of his friends as either one or the other. He owned a market garden growing organic vegetables and flowers, no chemical fertilizers involved. The retailing of his produce was from a small farm shop at the end of his site. The clientele knew that all of Alan’s fare was as fresh and natural as you could get anywhere.
He intensely detested the way that the world was going faster and faster, people didn’t think any more they just tapped into a hand held device to find out about everything. On waking they immediately reached for a machine to see what the weather was going to be like for the day, whereas Alan just looked out of the window. Next thing was the device on their wrist which told them how many steps they had taken the previous day, what their body temperature was and how many beats per minute their heart was producing whereas Alan looked at his Timex wristwatch for the time, he knew he was alive because he was awake and yesterday was yesterday who cares how far you walked.
Going to work the modern man got into his electric car, spoke to his satnav device ‘take me to work’ and just had to be there to follow instructions and steer the thing wherever he was told. The car companies were working on eliminating the need for that chore by this time next year whereas Alan got his trusty Raleigh bicycle out of the shed and pedaled his way to work.

Until the day that, without any prior warning, there was a massive solar flare. It shot out from the sun reaching some forty million miles in a matter of minutes. The force was so great and sudden that it sent a massive shock wave of energy into space.
The result of this was that all of the thousands of items in orbit around the planet earth were knocked off course, colliding with each other, spinning off into deep space or spiraling down towards the planet to burn up on re-entry or simply crash into the ground or sea.

Nothing was left up there, no Space stations, no GPS systems, no communication connections, no internet relays, in fact all the new technology and redundant space junk since the launch of Sputnik one and Telstar was gone. It was back to the nineteen fifties in a single stroke.

Politicians and Scientists all over the world cried out “WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?” But nobody could hear them except of course people within hearing distance. No one could go anywhere because they couldn’t read a map or even know where they lived in relation to where they wanted to be. Airplanes couldn’t fly anywhere in case they collided with another airplane both being flown by eyesight only!

The next day Alan Wainwright got up as usual, checked his Timex, looked out of the window, thought that he had better take a mac because it looked like rain, then pedaled to work.
That’s how things should be!