Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. citizens, along with just about everyone else, have become accustomed to greatly increased surveillance of their travel habits, their financial affairs, and their communications.
But that's only the beginning of what our political leaders have planned for us. In the name of the "War on Terror," we have entered what Michael G. Michael, a theologian and technology historian in Australia, calls "ueberveillance." (The word "ueber" means "over" or "super" in German).
In the world of ueberveillance, you're subject to continuous monitoring, from the moment you awake until the moment you go to sleep.
Let's say you live in the United States, home to some of the world's most pervasive surveillance. You awake and turn on your PC to read the news and check your e-mail. Under the "Protect America Act," the entire data stream from your online session is sent to the super-secret National Security Administration for analysis. Should something you've done prove suspicious, your online session is available for police to examine, without a warrant. This is courtesy of the "National Security Letter" provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
Once you've caught up with the news, you emerge from your flat. Almost instantly, a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera captures your image. Face recognition software immediately identifies it. As you walk to your train station, successive CCTV cameras record your progress.
Walking by a bank, you withdraw $100 from an ATM. Fortunately, the amount you've withdrawn is within your financial profile, so there's no need for the bank to notify police of "suspicious activity" in your account. If you had tried to withdraw over $1,000, however, an alarm would have been triggered. Your entire account would have been frozen pending an investigation. Naturally, your banker isn't allowed to inform you of this. You're not supposed to know.
On the train, commuting to your job, CCTV cameras monitor your every movement. When you emerge from the station, more CCTV cameras track you as you walk 100 yards or so from the subway station to your office.
You arrive at the office and log in to your workstation. Naturally, your employer records everything you do online to insure that you're not violating any policies. Such monitoring is completely legal under U.S. law.
At lunch, you emerge from the office and walk to a nearby deli for a sandwich. The clerk doesn't have change for a $20, so you pay with a credit card. Naturally, your credit card records are also available for warrantless inspection by police, once again courtesy of the USA PATRIOT Act.
In the afternoon, have an appointment to visit your doctor. When you arrive, you sign a piece of paper called a "HIPPA Disclosure Notice." It gives your doctor permission to provide your medical records to your insurance company for billing purposes. What the notice doesn't mention is that your signature also provides permission for your doctor to provide government agencies, direct mail marketers, and law enforcement agencies access to your confidential medical records. And doctors' hands are tied—they must turn over your records on request, or face sanctions.
Emerging from your doctor's office, you stop at a grocery store. To save money, you pay for your groceries using a "shopper's card." Unfortunately, you didn't bother to read the "fine print" when you applied for the card, which gives the supermarket the right to use your purchase data for any purpose they see fit. For instance, if you slip and fall in the store, and sue, the supermarket could use the fact that you'd purchased liquor there as evidence that you were likely intoxicated when you injured yourself.
Fortunately, no accidents occur in the store. You walk out and are promptly picked up by yet another CCTV camera. Returning home, you mix a cocktail and log in to your PC to read your personal e-mail. Which, naturally, is no less monitored than it was that morning.
Welcome to the world of ueberveillance. And be ready for more to come in the years ahead.
Don't like being monitored? Be sure to read my next blog entry to learn steps you can take to reduce, if not eliminate, many forms of surveillance.
Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann
Comments