Much like Winston Smith, we are all very aware that we are being surveyed in one way or another. Every time we use the internet or a credit card, data pertinent to our lives is automatically entered into massive databases under control of both government and private agencies. I even know several people who keep tape over the webcam on their computers, making the comparisons to Nineteen Eighty-Four and its two-way television even more clear and relevant. However, Nineteen Eighty-Four‘s model of “Big Brother” falls short of modeling the current surveillance of American society. One such weaknesses of Orwell’s model is its lack of covertness. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, citizens were made well aware of their own surveillance. And while today we are very well aware that the government and other agencies are keeping watch, the day to day ways in which we are surveyed are often not even realized. A subtle Google search may seem insignificant enough, but every search can easily be cataloged into massive databases accessible by the powerful few. It wasn’t even until Edward Snowden’s leaks that this type of surveillance has become common household knowledge or discussion. Therefore, we could be classified as much more naive than the citizens of Oceania with regards to surveillance.
Dataveillance is a word which captures the spirit of today’s massive surveillance efforts. The term suggests not only a visual surveillance such as Orwell envisioned, but a surveillance of data in general. The thought that massive databases which collect wide varieties of different data types are now being used to characterize and model our lives is quite sobering, and a reality which we’ve already witnessed in this class.
Anonymous
Good point about Google—a single search may reveal little, but in the aggregate, the thousands of searches we perform over the course of time possibly paint a more thorough picture of us than simple surveillance.Reference
I think one of the most interesting and potentially enlightening aspects of your blog post is about Edward Snowden. You mention, “It wasn’t even until Edward Snowden’s leaks that this type of surveillance has become common household knowledge or discussion.” This sentence is meant to show that the majority of Americans were unaware that they were constantly being monitored. After our class discussion about panopticons, I think that there is more to your original sentence.
One of the key features that a panopticon must have is the notion that the criminal must be fully aware that there is always the possibility that their activities are being watched. If the criminal is not aware that they are being watched, then they are more likely to engage in criminal activities. Until Edward Snowden, the U.S. surveillance was thought to only monitor those who might pose some threat to the nation. Now, the majority of the populace knows that at any point in time the government could be watching their every movement. Which brings me to my point, the U.S. government knows that it is more efficient to operate using a panopticon than to have someone or a computer constantly monitoring. Yes, I am saying that I believe that it is possible that the Snowden Leaks were not an act of treason but an act that was on behalf of the government. The Leaks provided the criminals (aka the American population) with the knowledge that their actions might be monitored any time and any place. This knowledge, in turn, makes people more likely to be cautious with the activities they choose to engage in; essentially making the U.S one gigantic panopticon.
I am not saying that this is 100% fact but I do think, and do not put it past the U.S. government, to concoct such a scheme to make mass surveillance more efficient.Reference
There’s not much evidence to this theory, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an evocative idea to toy with. Aside from the panopticon, Foucault wrote more generally about how power works in contemporary society. He argues that power finds its own way to extend itself, regardless of any individual or group of individuals in power. So, one might argue that Snowden’s expose ends up perpetuating the panopticon even as he himself was trying to disrupt it.