If there was a crime committed outside your home and you have surveillance footage that has captured passers by, you would not offer it to the police because you would rather protect the privacy of the all the anonymous passers by when one of them is likely the culprit?
That strikes me as highly unlikely. And if you wouldn’t, I am willing to bet that most people would. Why care about the privacy of anonymous passers by when you can help catch the perpetrator and increase safety around your home?
These are not the same. You might think the difference is subtle, but I'll tell you that that subtly matters. And matters a lot.
And tbh, these two scenarios are quite different.
The difference is how information was gathered.
People volunteering information to an authority? Perfectly fine (especially in cases when information was not requested).
People being compelled to provide information? Needs friction (checks and balances).
People being compelled to provide information about others who then unknowningly being investigated? Needs even more friction.
It's also important to note that in the hypothetical that random passerbyers are not being investigated either. A specific type of behavior is being sought. Either the explicit act of the crime being committed or a STRONG correlation with another piece of evidence (such as already knowing what the criminal looks like and trying to find a better view). Random people are not considered suspect.
In the article's case all viewers were considered suspect.
well if we're resorting to hyperbole comparing a murder to "watching a youtube video": say you knew and had multiple whistleblowers pass by in your footage, and they are all wanted by the government. You turning over the footage puts those whistleblowers in danger, who's only "crime" is revealing government corruption. Is catching one crook worth endangering multiple good people?