From targeted to pervasive surveillance : the rise of anti-surveillance activism against twin big brothers

Abstract

This article consists of 3 sections: The first section offers an introduction to the major notions of surveillance studies such as surveillance society, privacy, transparency etc. It is argued that the so-called ‘liberal democracies’ are no longer so liberal when it comes to surveillance. Pervasive surveillance by twin big brothers (ie states and corporations) over all the people are justified on the basis of crime prevention, security, terrorism or profit maximization. In the wake of Snowden revelations that magnified and even confirmed the suspicions about surveillance, anti-surveillance movements have been in the making. They are still weak and quite fragmented, as it is rare to see that democracy movements busy with their other priorities are interested in data justice issues. So we have a set of suggestions for anti-surveillance activism. Thirdly, we tried to reflect on alternatives to mass surveillance. As it is considered to be inevitable, we need to think about how to transform it and transform to what. Burgeoning notions such as sousveillance, equiveillance and coveillance are discussed within this context. We propose that anti-surveillance movements in a more socially conscious form should join hands with wider social justice movements via the notion of data justice.