Surveillance has been a powerful tool since the end of the 19th century and it was especially prominent in the 20th century onward (Ball & Snider, 2013). Military forces have been prominent users of such technology, especially during world war II and cracking the Enigma code (Ball & Snider, 2013). Another fan of surveillance is commerce, especially in our capitalist world (Ball & Snider, 2013). Nowadays, with the power of surveillance, corporations have the power to control every movement their workers make, every desire their customers have and every want citizens lack (Ball & Snider, 2013). So how can we define this complex? What role does surveillance play in today’s world? In short, according to Ball & Snider (2013), surveillance is the power abused by the state in political struggles along with the control of its people’s thoughts, as well as a tool used by industries to reduce workers into numbers and production power on one hand, and commodify citizens and customers on the other. One may ask: “why should I care if my data is being surveilled? I don’t have anything to hide”. Hache & Jansen (2018), clearly explain why we must capitalize (excuse the pun) on the importance and dangers of surveillance. Data collection is not simply a matter of knowing that a person likes dark chocolate more than milk chocolate, it is a profiling of people and a destruction of opportunities depending on what algorithms deem an individual to be (Hache & Jansen, 2018). This is especially true when someone speaks out against the status quo leading to their silencing, labeling as terrorists, and in extreme cases worse.
References
Ball, K., & Snider, L. (2013). The Surveillance-Industrial Complex: A Political Economy of Surveillance. doi: https://www.book2look.com/embed/9781136206979
Hache, A., & Jansen, F. (2018). Privacy, Surveillance and Data Tracking: Why Does it Matter for Human Rights Defenders? Retrieved from https://www.ritimo.org/Privacy-Surveillance-and-Data-Tracking-Why-Does-it-Matter-for-Human-Rights
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