I believe that it is unethical Voyeurism.

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

If it is clean and nice joke, I think it's alright. But If they are making fun of people and showing them stupid and naive, that is not right!!!

I found most of these hidden camera television series low form of reality TV and humor. I think some people do it because they want to be seen/shown in TV. 

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

This is for clean joke, please, see....:

To me, it is highly unethical and unacceptable practice.

Dear @Mahmoud, very often people are not aware that they are subject of hidden/candid camera.

Of course, I am a big fun of such shows where fun and jokes are purpose, but not harming the innocent people. As @Aya have said, it may become very rude, unacceptable!

Dear @Ljubomir, Thank you for your comment. But these hidden camera TV pranks would generally violate privacy rights.

Yes, hidden video cameras at work, in work, surveillance, security... are irregular. Here is the case my dear @Mahmoud.

EUROPEAN COURT UPHOLDS JOURNALISTS’ USE OF HIDDEN CAMERAS!

http://www.ijrcenter.org/2015/03/04/european-court-upholds-journalists-use-of-hidden-cameras/

Even surveillance cameras are installed with the knowledge of those who come under surveillance.  This kind of pranks are trespass into the privacy of the common people.  

Dear Debi S. Saini send his answer to me directly. I say "hello" to him for being here after sometimes and thank him for participation in this discussion. Here I forward his comment intact::

"This will surely make life difficult, and attack privacy, and instill persistent fear among people. They will not be their natural selves in behaviour."

Prank is a mischievous trick or a practical joke played on people to make them feel confused, shocked, embarrassed or discomforted. It is different from those tricks in which the victims find out that they’re being fooled. These jokes are temporary and lighthearted in which the victim feel foolish or victimized to an extent. Sometimes it seems that the person is being bullied by someone if not performed with finesse.

A harmless prank is always good to have fun with your friends if it’s not causing any damage to someone. If you are looking forward to play pranks on your friends, these shows will give you some great ideas to start with.

Here are the top ten pranks based shows of all times.

See Link

http://topyaps.com/top-10-prank-based-shows-in-the-world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK0xhyYMr4M

A hidden camera will record how humans behave, sometimes very stupid, but makes people laugh, so it is pleasant to watch.

When people are asked to do silly things so as to get trapped, then it is joke no more, so not pleasant to watch, but makes you mad.

Dear Mahmoud, 

No, of course we all disagree on hidden camera jokes.

I believe, those that are involved have to find consent to have the result shown in public.

It is poor taste show, and those of us that disagree, should simply not watch those shows, until they end that kind of procedure.

Dear Mahmoud,

Use hidden cameras to make people laugh it is the decadence of humor, intelligence degradation, it is the ridiculization of life, is low, vulgar, ordinary and offensive. It is a result of poverty of human Spirit.

I think it is not acceptable some times 

This is an example of ethical dilemma.  Depending on our personal moral philosophy - if you support / subscribe Kantianism (duty to the moral law), you will reject / denounce using hidden cameras to make fun of people on TV.  If you subscribe Utilitarianism (actions are justified if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority), you will accept this act as it brings benefits to the majority e.g. for educational purpose so that general public can learn from the captured altitudes / behaviors or yield humor / laughter for majority viewers etc.

Dear @Han, you are right bring the ethical dilemma. In fact some people in favor of such programs would argue that "If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear". Actually, this motto has been used in the closed-circuit TV program practiced in cities in the US for a different purpose not ridiculing people. Although the privacy should matter even if one has 'nothing to hide!

The nothing-to-hide argument speaks to some problems but not to others. The following discussion try to answer "Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide' " So I give the link if someone is interested to follow it up.

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127461/

Dear Omid,

This is a matter of specific individuality!

Dear @Subhash, But TV is a general place  and should act as an educational media. Of course, people like to watch TV, but TV also has moral responsibility, too.

Although the very act has no harm  just fun but with some people finding humiliating as it exposes their true behavior in different circumstances, the very act as a culture has some meanings. How did looking into some one (or rude word sneaking ) secretly begin ? Therefore  beyond its entertainment (facial value or wax) it has some cultural connotations (gold) we call it in Ethiopia,  a word with two meanings : wax and gold - the wax is the one which is immediate and apparent to see for one who is gullible and the gold is the one which is hidden that requires deep thinking.  

Besides, the very act and its consequences is victim dependent. If victims are financially resourceful, they may sue and put the perpetrator in trouble, but those who are no way of challenging the perpetrators have no choice but to lough with it together. 

In my opinion it is anacceptible

Encroachment and intrusion into privacy are not to be encouraged in society. It should be with the consent. Besides, TV shows are sponsored and thus commercialisation should be discouraged.

In fact  most of these hidden camera prank shows about embarrassing ordinary members of the public. Pranks are just mean unfunny lies. When people watch such shows on TV, they tend to totally laughing at them and not with them. As a result, some people just aren't willing to be on TV any more

Dear all

Making prank or funny basing on other’s pain has crashed the bottom line of our human morality. Right of portraiture for common people is protected by law in most country. But why can TV against law on public view?

If you don't believe in God, then believe in the hidden camera”

― Kamil Ali, Profound Vers-A-Tales

Dear all

Talking about the problem, bring me to think about Project Glass of Google. If it becomes common, we will be cautious our words and deeds every time, everywhere out home.

Dear all

What is the purpose of a hidden camera? The purpose is recording Crime and preventing crime.

So far we have explored ethical dilemma that face normal people in prank TV shows using hidden camera in this question. Maybe it is now the time to ask when fwe are aced with an ethical dilemma, do we do the right thing? Are our actions aligned with our own personal ethics?

http://standingpartnership.com/blog/entry/six-questions-for-dealing-with-ethical-dilemmas

A person, who chooses to be a comedian, has used his/her own free will. It is not acceptable to impose, on someone, the comedy career by candid/spy/hidden cameras under the pretext of making fun. I think the person, who is driven to such situation, is entitled for compensation and a law ought to be found to enforce that. Sometimes, these TV programs cause unwarranted tension or pain or anxiety or anger.

It is not acceptable, as well, to install candid/spy/hidden cameras in universities with an evil intention. Of course, justifications will be offered such as protecting the property or fear of a breakout of a quarrel or the "sacred" cow of security. When it comes to the crunch, you will see that these cameras are only set up to look for mistakes of the staff in order to blackmail or intimidate them.     

Dear @Nizar. Thank you for your comments. But I am not against the use of hidden cameras in lots of applications such as banks, airports, military installations, highways, etc. They became common in banks and stores to discourage theft, They are being used to provide aerial images of wildfires, to monitor highway traffic, and similar good practices. My objection or question here is about the misuse of such technology to make fun of people on TV.

It is not a good idea and i seriously want to advice those in the habit of that to stop

Dear Professor Omid,

There are some imported TV shows of this kind here. I can watch them, but I'm not a fan.  And personally I've never wanted to be and will never want to be on TV as a fool or a laughing stock. Some pranks such as a fake abduction and a plane incident are too much for me. But what can we say?  Some people seem to enjoy seeing others make a fool of themselves; this is why these shows are still alive and well.  

Best regards,

Cameen  

What a case! FOX6 hidden cameras expose questionable tactics of high-dollar matchmaking service!

http://fox6now.com/2015/11/03/fox6-hidden-cameras-expose-questionable-tactics-of-high-dollar-matchmaking-service/

Dear @Ljubomir, Thank you for bring some good examples of hidden cameras usage. Let me follow  by mentioning some facts about surveillance cameras systems in general. In recent years, closed-circuit television (CCTV) have found many good applications as pointed out already in my previous answer.  In fact, CCTV is the worlds fastest growing industry! 

Cons: Opponents of CCTV point out the loss of privacy of the people under surveillance, and the negative impact of surveillance on civil liberties. Furthermore, they argue that CCTV displaces crime, rather than reducing it.

Pros: More positive views of CCTV cameras have argued that the cameras are not intruding into people’s privacy, as they are not surveiling private, but public space, where an individual’s right to privacy can reasonably be weighed against the intended benefits of surveilance.

The attached link provide a detailed discussion about CCTVs, Pros and Cons, ... with many good references to follow the issue further.

https://cctvjargon.wordpress.com/

In Argentina it is common to use hidden cameras in Investigative Journalism, for example, in order to reveal cases of corruption, bad political practices and the like. At times, hidden cameras have been used to make fun of people. Such programs, which have been very successful, certainly do not promote good values for coexistence. Personally, I've always found them very unpleasant .

I think it depends on the culture. I've seen many Japanese game shows where they use hidden cameras to capture pranks videos. In the US, you can be sued for doing harmless prank videos. What can be viewed as acceptable in one culture can be unacceptable in another.

I agree with the above comments but unfortunately it looks that the baseline for privacy has simply changed and many are in favor of the "nothing to hide" act. They think it does not matter if one has nothing to hide. Alternatively, they would say that anyone who cares about their privacy must be hiding something!  But I think such arguments are unfounded and  faulty. We are entitled (have the right) to privacy. We must value the privacy through cultural sensitivity, personal dignity, ....  So making pranks of  ordinary people on the street via hidden camera are very cheap TV shows and should not be watched  

Thank you for invitation on this question. In my experience, the TV camera was not usefull to customer's life. Because it's hard to control zoom in / zoom out and change direction of the camera. And it's very hard to share video and pictures to friends due to the 4-direction based remote controller - it makes flaws to input keyboard.

Also, hidden camera might occur privacy issue. so we need to develop carefully for security. if we can get some agreements from the user, maybe privacy issues not be the problem except the security issue.

Thank you.

This may be interesting on Media Ethics: Deceptive journalistic practices punctuated two political controversies in early 2011, embarrassing powerful public figures and drawing additional media coverage and condemnation from journalists and commentators. The SPJ Code of Ethics that journalists “be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting news” while avoiding “undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public.”

http://silha.umn.edu/news/PrankPhoneCall.html

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

I agree with Prof. Mahmoud Omid, that Media should have an Ethics, see what

"Mark Twain" said:

“Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other.”

                                                                  -----   Mark Twain