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Despite the turned on the signaling device warning of an approaching train, an unguarded railway crossing in the Podhale village of Zaskale enters the train and unexpectedly stops on the tracks. An 18-year-old driver is currently taking her driving test. The examiner pops up and starts waving, alerting the driver, then runs away. Being examined to the end, she tries to move. Too late.

On the same day, the course of the tragically ended exam is watched by all of Poland on TV screens, computers and smartphones. The events were recorded by many cameras at the same time, like a sensational movie scene. Because the test cars are equipped with cameras that record the image outside the car and what is happening inside. Such an obligation was introduced to facilitate the resolution of disputes concerning the conduct of examinations. A video recorder is installed in the train to assess the driver's behavior in the event of an accident. The stationary camera also works at the railway crossing.

- Most rail-road crossings are already equipped with cameras. We have approx. 3 thousand. of such monitored facilities in Poland. They are part of the safety improvement program implemented by PKP PLK. The recordings serve as evidence in the event of disasters, as well as in proceedings against breaking the law. In 99 percent. they are car drivers. That is why we publish some recordings on the Internet, only to warn against the effects of irresponsible behavior - explains Mirosław Siemieniec, spokesman for PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA.

The railway infrastructure manager uses cameras on a larger scale. Monitoring allows for remote operation of some devices and monitoring of traffic on station platforms and in the area of ​​larger railway stations. PKP PLK is also monitored remotely by construction crews working on many sections of railway routes. - Thanks to this, we can track the progress of works on an ongoing basis and check whether they are progressing as it was stated in the contract with the contractor - explains Siemieniec.

Videorecept

Cameras have become a recipe for all problems today. When it recently became apparent that landfill fires are suspiciously frequent, an immediate draft of a law mandating the installation of cameras was born. But not so that firefighters could start a fire quickly. They will serve to explain the causes of the fire and whether they are not the result of deliberate arson.

The very idea of ​​monitoring and video recording would not be anything special if it were not for the additional requirement of online transmission to environmental inspectorates. The new regulations also introduce a requirement that not only the area of ​​the landfill itself, but also access roads and the surrounding area should be monitored. This means the need to install many additional cameras and raises legal doubts, because the area belonging to other owners must also be monitored. Therefore, the recycling industry is full of concerns, because it will have to incur considerable expenses, and in addition, it is not sure who will have access to camera broadcasts and how they will be used. Only for control?

Transporters who have to monitor the movement of sensitive goods have similar concerns. The transport package is another idea of ​​the state to deal with the problem of fraud in the trade in excise goods, especially fuels. Cisterns crossing EU borders and circulating around the country with untaxed fuel disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and heating oil suddenly turned into diesel fuel. The gray economy in the fuel trade was booming. That is why the SENT system, run by the National Revenue Administration (KAS), has appeared.

Road transport of sensitive goods (including fuels, oils, lubricants, vegetable fats, contaminated alcohol, raw tobacco, and recently also scarce drugs) must be reported to the system and is tracked by it. A number of requirements have been imposed on the sender, carrier and recipient, violation of which is severely punished. For now, there is no obligation to use cameras, but from October 1, geolocation is mandatory. Each car, as well as a train, must be equipped with special devices allowing to determine where they are at a given moment. Draconian penalties are possible for violating the rules. Therefore, the driver must keep track of the device's operation, and when he realizes that the transmission of data about his position has stopped, he must stop.

- We understand the need to fight tax fraud, but the state imposes further obligations on entrepreneurs without taking into account the social and economic costs they bring. In addition, the regulations are constantly changing, and this does not facilitate planning when creating a budget or when concluding contracts for a longer term. Thus, proposed for 2019 the abolition of the criterion of the minimum quantity of heating oil subject to monitoring, as well as the introduction of the obligation to register all its recipients in the system, will ensure that SENT will cover the supply of 100 or 200 liters of heating oil to non-entrepreneurs, who order 100 or 200 liters of heating oil in winter, explains Maciej Wroński, president of the Transport and Logistics Employers' Association.

"The transport package is an effective tool to fight against dishonest entities, illegally introducing sensitive goods to the market or fraudulent returning unpaid taxes. Its effect is, among others 19 percent increase in the level of legal consumption of diesel oil and 8%. an increase in legal sales of gasoline in 2017 compared to 2016, which automatically translated into an increase in taxes paid to the state budget. Data from two fuel companies show that in 2017 over PLN 8 billion of additional tax revenues were transferred to the state budget from them, ”the KAS Communication Office explained to us.

Pursuant to the new requirements, carriers have already registered 9 thousand. locators and 50 external location systems with which over 3,000 geolocation devices. In many cases, shipping companies have already had geolocation systems, because they want to know where their employees and vehicles are, and whether they are doing business somewhere on the side.

You are in a hidden camera

Today, almost everyone wants to track and monitor someone. Even the ombudsman, who we would rather not suspect of such inclinations, proposed that notaries should be obliged to videorecord their activities, as housing frauds often occur as a pledge on small loans. In the opinion of the spokesman, such a recording could help avoid the effects of a legal act.

Modern technology makes almost everything possible today. Once expensive and complicated, wired CCTV systems have evolved into much cheaper and simpler ones, based on wireless devices that use the Internet and packet data transmission, i.e. the IP protocol. Data can be collected in the cloud, small high-definition cameras can be masked. Nothing can be hidden from them, because they can work in night vision or thermal imaging mode. They are durable and efficient, the batteries can provide them with long-term operation even away from power sources.

Therefore, foresters install video traps, thanks to which they identify the perpetrators of the theft of wood or those who throw rubbish into the forest. The Railway Security Service installs cameras for drones that watch for thieves of railway cargo from the air. The municipal police in Katowice sends drones with cameras and sensors over the houses to catch those who burn garbage. Police look for hooligans in stadiums and road pirates through the lenses of hooligans using video recorders. Customs officers track smugglers on the eastern border and in Świnoujście thanks to ANPRS cameras that can identify license plates, and city guards want to identify owners of illegally parking cars in this way.

- There are already facial recognition systems that make it possible to identify people in the field of view of the camera and even interpret their behavior. Thanks to this, the system can detect a suspicious person by itself or alert the services if it deems that there is a violation of the law, explains Tomasz Kulisiewicz, an expert in the field of telecommunications. - We are getting closer to the scenario from the "Minority Report". Spielberg's famous film showed the world of the future, in which "foremen" were prosecuted, that is, people who were recognized by the system as those who would commit a crime in the future.

Don't hit that gentleman!

There is no shortage of ideas for the application of monitoring. A Krakow councilor recently made a proposal to install not only a webcam, but also a loudspeaker on each lighthouse. A person who feels threatened could set off an alarm, and a city guard sitting in front of the screen could warn the perpetrator via a loudspeaker, saying, for example, "stop hitting this man, the patrol is on the way" - explained the councilor. Krakow authorities did not take the project seriously, although they themselves believe in monitoring. For PLN 2.5 million, they install cameras (without loudspeakers) following the situation on the streets. The inhabitants of Kraków supported the monitoring in a referendum.

The invasion of cameras is carried out today under the slogan of creating smart cities. This is the name of cities building modern digital infrastructure, using technologies for more efficient and effective management of services and municipal services, and above all to direct traffic.

This is a great opportunity for telecommunications operators who are looking for new development areas, because the existing ones are running out. Everyone already has smartphones, talks and is online 24 hours a day. They can't do more. Therefore, an opportunity for operators is the Internet of Things, in which millions of cameras, sensors and other devices maintain wireless connectivity.

Orange Polska is already building a smart city in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Association, and T-Mobile Polska has chosen a more modest goal: Kazimierz Dolny. - We are starting the implementation of a demonstration intelligent city there, which includes, among others construction of a city Wi-Fi network, systems monitoring traffic and informing about the availability of parking spaces, enabling the use of city bikes, controlling city lighting. An advanced city monitoring system will also be created that will automatically recognize situations that require intervention - explains Michał Krauze, head of the innovation and new businesses department at T-Mobile Polska. The monitoring system will alert the policemen if it detects a dangerous situation.

Chinese script

Today monitoring is considered to be the basis of smart cities. In Mysłowice, even garbage bins are equipped with special sensors. In Warsaw, the video monitoring system has nearly 14,000. cameras, almost half of which are installed in city buses. System operators track the image of the most important places on their screens, but most cameras simply capture the image just so that it can be recreated if the need arises. Recordings are kept for a specified period of time (the law says about 90 days), and then deleted.

The number of cameras is growing exponentially. Not only in Poland, but all over the world. This market is estimated today at over $ 18 billion, and in 2025 it will reach $ 43 billion. Most of the installations use internet technology. This, however, creates technical problems. Everyone is convinced that the Internet can handle everything. Experts warn against excessive optimism.

The development of smart cities, autonomous transport and other Internet of Things solutions will also require a new connectivity standard called the 5G network. These super-fast and much more efficient networks (also from LTE) are already being developed, they are being promoted by the EU. But in Poland, we do not have a chance for them. - Our barrier is the standards of electromagnetic radiation. They were established in the 1960s by Soviet scientists and are ridiculously strict, so except for us only Bulgaria and Russia use them. The Russians are departing from them anyway. Without the adoption of international standards in this area, it will be impossible to create a 5G network. Today, however, when pseudoscientific theories about GMOs or vaccines become officially in force, I do not see a chance to change the standards, explains Tomasz Kulisiewicz.

The massive presence of cameras generally does not bother us. It even gives you a sense of security. These are the conclusions of the research conducted by the Panoptykon Foundation, which works for freedom and protection of human rights in a surveillance society. Panoptykon prepared the Big Brother Toys report on new technologies for monitoring society and the resulting threats to our privacy. - As a society, we have the right to know where and for what purpose we are being watched. Why is the state doing this and how are the collected materials used? Unfortunately, we do not know this. And yet universal monitoring may be an introduction to solutions already tested in China - warns Katarzyna Szymielewicz, president of the foundation. China has gone the farthest in monitoring, it has the most extensive and advanced system based on artificial intelligence. They are experimenting with the use of cameras to evaluate and reward citizens' obedience and loyalty. Orwell probably didn't believe that his imaginary world would come true so quickly.