Is your airline secretly filming you? Carriers admit to cameras in seat-back screens

LONDON, United Kingdom - Catching a plane soon? Then smile because you could be on camera. Three airlines have this week admitted that their inflight entertainment (IFE) screens have lenses embedded within them.The carriers concerned – American, United and Singapore – deny they are using the cameras and claim they were built into the screens by IFE manufacturers for “possible future uses such as seat-to-seat video conferencing," reports travel writer Gavin Haines for UK's Telegraph.

Feb 27th, 2019
Is your airline secretly filming you? Carriers admit to cameras in seat-back screens
Is your airline secretly filming you? Carriers admit to cameras in seat-back screens
LONDON, United Kingdom - Catching a plane soon? Then smile because you could be on camera. Three airlines have this week admitted that their inflight entertainment (IFE) screens have lenses embedded within them.The carriers concerned – American, United and Singapore – deny they are using the cameras and claim they were built into the screens by IFE manufacturers for “possible future uses such as seat-to-seat video conferencing," reports travel writer Gavin Haines for UK's Telegraph.

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The Intelligent Aerospace take:

February 27, 2019-Singapore Airlines passenger Vitaly Kamluk noticed a camera below the seat-back monitor aboard his flight and tweeted the carrier to ask how the camera was used. After the query, a trio of carriers - American, United and Singapore - said that they had IFE systems with embedded cameras, but all said they were inactive, and were for “possible future uses such as seat-to-seat video conferencing," but there were no plans to activate the cameras.

Panasonic Avionics noted that the cameras were not there to "spy" on passengers, and would work with carriers prior to any activation. “Prior to the use of any camera on a Panasonic Avionics system that would affect passenger privacy, Panasonic Avionics would work closely with its airline customer to educate passengers about how the system works and to certify compliance with all appropriate privacy laws and regulations, such as GDPR,” said a Panasonic spokesperson.

Related: Ericsson and Panasonic Avionics bringing connectivity to the skies with 5G-ready platform

Related: The 13 biggest air travel complaints of 2018, from flight delays to discrimination and more

Related: Royole and Airbus enter partnership on flexible electronic technologies for aircraft applications

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace

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