Photo EXIF Data and "The Man"
I was looking at a few of my photos on Flickr this morning when I noticed the plethora of information revealed by the EXIF data associated with nearly all images taken using digital cameras. The most striking attributes were the camera serial number and image number. A unique serial number is associated with all of the images taken by a with a specific camera, and those images are voluntarily uploaded to a photo sharing site. Is it possible for a site like Flickr or Google Image Search to aggregate all of the photos taken with a specific camera during a particular time span? How about tracking down stolen photo equipment? What if your camera was stolen in January, but a photo taken with it in June was found on the Internet? Could you track down the thief using meta-data embedded in a digital image?
I recall hearing an interview on NPR with a digital imaging expert from Carnegie Mellon who said that it's possible to identify the specific model and, in some cases, the specific camera that produced a digital image without the assistance of EXIF data. This was done by analyzing the image for visual artifacts unique to specific digital cameras and image processors. I find this amazing and horrifying at the same time. I firmly believe in an individual's right to anonymously capture and share information. It seems like consumerism and technology conspiring to create a trackable population.