- We study mass surveillance for social control, and we see Trump laying the groundwork to ‘contain’ people of color and immigrantsby Brittany Friedman, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California on February 21, 2025 at 1:37 pm
Create a moral panic. Blame it on certain people. Commence monitoring. Deploy droves of security agents. Detain or remove the targets. Sound familiar?
- ‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50by Matthew Sharpe, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University on February 3, 2025 at 7:10 pm
One of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century, Discipline and Punish is unsettlingly prescient in our age of digital surveillance.
- Lessons from ‘stop and frisk’ can help Philly police use drones to improve safety without compromising civil libertiesby Robert Kane, Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, Drexel University on January 21, 2025 at 1:36 pm
The Philadelphia Police Department plans to expand its use of drones, including as first responders.
- Surveillance tech is changing our behaviour – and our brainsby Kiley Seymour, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Behaviour, University of Technology Sydney on January 14, 2025 at 12:33 am
A new study shows that simply knowing we are being watched can unconsciously heighten our awareness of other people’s gaze.
- Brain monitoring may be the future of work – how it’s used could improve employee performance or worsen discriminationby Paul Brandt-Rauf, Professor and Dean of Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University on January 7, 2025 at 1:22 pm
Neurotechnology raises many high-stakes ethical questions. Setting ground rules could help protect workers and ensure that tasks are adapted to the person, rather than the other way around.
- State surveillance: Kenyans have a right to privacy – does the government respect it?by Mugambi Laibuta, Fellow, Strathmore University on November 28, 2024 at 11:48 am
There are dangers to having government surveillance carried out without proper oversight and accountability.
- Bunnings breached privacy law by scanning customers’ faces – but this loophole lets other shops keep doing itby Margarita Vladimirova, PhD in Privacy Law and Facial Recognition Technology, Deakin University on November 19, 2024 at 5:36 am
Despite the ruling against Bunnings, Australian businesses can continue to collect your biometric information without your explicit consent by simply putting up signs.
- Mauritius’ social media shutdown: a worrying sign that civil rights are slippingby Roukaya Kasenally, Democracy scholar and Associate Professor in Media and Political Systems, University of Mauritius on November 6, 2024 at 8:41 am
There’s been a gradual erosion of democratic rights and liberties in the island of Mauritius.
- Pagers and walkie-talkies over cellphones – a security expert explains why Hezbollah went low-tech for communicationsby Richard Forno, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County on September 18, 2024 at 9:32 pm
Smartphones may be indispensable to modern life, but they’re also perfect tools for spying on their owners. Anyone looking to avoid being tracked – like, say, militant groups – tends to ditch them.
- AI used by police cannot tell Black people apart and other reasons Canada’s AI laws need urgent attentionby Kevin Walby, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Winnipeg on August 25, 2024 at 12:10 pm
Two new laws with major implications for how AI is used in society are being considered in Canada. Both lack protections for the public from the harms of AI, including racial profiling by police.
- China leans into using AI − even as the US leads in developing itby Shaoyu Yuan, Dean’s Fellow at the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University – Newark on August 21, 2024 at 12:14 pm
In the AI game, China has bet on strategic use over innovation, tightening its grip domestically and extending its reach internationally.
- The right to disconnect from work – and employer surveillance – is growing globally. Why is NZ lagging?by Amanda Reilly, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington on August 21, 2024 at 12:42 am
Advances in technology mean employers can keep tabs on workers long after the workday has finished. New Zealand needs to follow global examples and strengthen workers rights beyond the workplace.
- Neurotechnology is becoming widespread in workplaces – and our brain data needs to be protectedby Edward Musole, PhD Law Candidate, University of New England on August 20, 2024 at 1:48 am
As the federal government prepares to reform Australia’s privacy laws, it needs to better protect brain data.
- Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems workby Kimberly Przeszlowski, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Quinnipiac University on August 15, 2024 at 12:30 pm
As police departments across the US and the world adopt real-time crime centers, there’s a need for better public understanding of how these centers work.
- Australians like facial recognition for ID but don’t want it used for surveillance, new survey showsby Mark Andrejevic, Professor, School of Media, Film, and Journalism, Monash University, Monash University on July 30, 2024 at 5:07 am
Automated facial recognition is becoming widespread in Australia. The technology has already been used by retail outlets, sport stadiums and casinos around the country. And in November, the Australian…
- AI mass surveillance at Paris Olympics – a legal scholar on the security boon and privacy nightmareby Anne Toomey McKenna, Visiting Professor of Law, University of Richmond on July 17, 2024 at 12:28 pm
France is using experimental AI-enabled surveillance and data collection tools before, during and after the 2024 Summer Olympics. Here’s what that means for the trade-off between security and privacy.
- Businesses are harvesting our biometric data. The public needs assurances on securityby Kamran Mahroof, Associate Professor, Supply Chain Analytics, University of Bradford on July 9, 2024 at 3:43 pm
Biometrics can help companies to be more efficient and to improve their products but there’s a growing need for transparency.
- Computer love: AI-powered chatbots are changing how we understand romantic and sexual well-beingby Valerie A. Lapointe, PhD candidate in psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) on July 7, 2024 at 12:07 pm
Artificial intelligence technologies are changing how users experience intimate romantic and sexual connections. These technologies bring many positive benefits, but there is a dark side.
- Who gets to decide what counts as ‘disorder’?by Jess Reia, Assistant Professor of Data Science, University of Virginia on June 3, 2024 at 12:37 pm
Framing dissent and poverty as a menace to public order can threaten fundamental rights, particularly when it’s used to justify the deployment of predictive technology.
- What Philadelphians need to know about the city’s 7,000-camera surveillance systemby Albert Fox Cahn, Practitioner-in-Residence, Information Law Institute, New York University on May 24, 2024 at 12:28 pm
Police can reconstruct someone’s movements for days or weeks at a time, without any court oversight.
- Section 702 foreign surveillance law lives on, but privacy fight continuesby Peter Swire, Professor of Law and Ethics, Georgia Institute of Technology on May 9, 2024 at 12:32 pm
Privacy advocates lost out when Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without major reforms. But the renewal fight returns in 2 years.
- 2024 Senegal election crisis points to deeper issues with Macky Sall and his preferred successorby Amy Niang, Head of Research Programme, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa on March 18, 2024 at 10:59 am
Attempts to postpone Senegal’s election indefinitely reflect deeper governance problems within Macky Sall’s administration, and the shortcomings of his chosen heir, Amadou Ba.
- Digital surveillance is omnipresent in China. Here’s how citizens are copingby Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Professeure de management et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la régulation du digital dans la vie professionnelle et personnelle; Canada Research Chair in Digital Regulation at Work and in Life, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) on March 13, 2024 at 9:35 pm
State surveillance of citizens is growing all over the world, but it is a fact of daily life in China. People are developing mental tactics to distance themselves from it.
- Are private conversations truly private? A cybersecurity expert explains how end-to-end encryption protects youby Robin Chataut, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity and Computer Science, Quinnipiac University on March 11, 2024 at 12:26 pm
End-to-end encryption provides strong protection for keeping your communications private, but not every messaging app uses it, and even some of the ones that do don’t have it turned on by default.
- The use of technology in policing should be regulated to protect people from wrongful convictionsby Joanna Pozzulo, Chancellor’s Professor, Psychology, Carleton University on February 12, 2024 at 9:19 pm
Police use of surveillance technologies — like security cameras and artificial intelligence — is becoming more widespread. Measures are needed to protect people’s privacy and avoid misidentification.
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