There are 1,319,872,109 internet users in the world [1], and most of them are not perfectly aware of “the surveillance society”, of its laws and regulations. When protection against terrorism and personal safety are involved, people accept the notion of a surveillance society, however when the focus shifts onto personal privacy and anonymity, this perspective tends to change. This essay explores some of the aspects of surveillance society in relation to the internet, first of all highlighting who watches who, how the surveillance happens, positive and negative points of view and finally, how to deal with the surveillance society.
(image courtesy of mvwphoto) “The surveillance society is a society which is organised and structured using surveillance-based techniques. To be under surveillance means having information about one’s movements and activities recorded by technologies, on behalf of the organisations and governments that structure our society. This information is then sorted, sifted and categorised, and used as a basis for decisions which affect our life chances. Such decisions concern our entitlement and access to benefits, work, products and services and criminal justice; our health and well-being and our movement through public and private spaces.” [2].
While restricting the definition of surveillance society to the internet, we must take into account the integration of the technologies that brought most of the “traditional” services and products directly in internet “over ip”. Skype or any VOIP (Voice over internet protocol) services are typical examples. Telecommunication companies (and ISPs) including mobile companies must also be considered. The internet is accessible in many different ways (e.g. mobile devices, wireless networks, landlines, Bluetooth) and all of these are traceable. Surveillance, then, doesn’t only occur while someone is surfing the internet and accessing different websites; it starts as soon as the user is connected. ISPs assign an IP to the user and this IP locates where the user is. In the same way, if the user utilizes a mobile to surf or connect to the internet, it can be located through the triangulation of the signal.
But who watches who? Mainly there are two actors in this game: individuals and organisations. The organisations can be divided between companies and government. The most frequent (and known) combinations are: government watching individuals, individuals watching individuals, companies watching individuals. In China websites are often banned (or limited). For instance, from the 5th of April, Wikipedia became partially accessible to China. Before that date the website was completely banned and inaccessible. Despite this, particular words (such as “Tibet” and “Taiwan”) don’t return any results [3]. This is an example of surveillance society exerted by the government through the internet. In this case people cannot do much against it. Another example of surveillance takes place between individuals:
“In the last few years, most of us - even instinctive technophobes like me - have become practised in the dark art of surveillance. When I’m going to meet a stranger at dinner, I’ll routinely feed her name to Google and LexisNexis to find out who she is and what she’s been up to lately. If you know the person’s street address, you can spy on her house with Google Earth, and inspect the state of her roof and how she keeps her garden. A slight tilt of camera angle, and you’d be able to see into her sock drawer and monitor the bottles in her liquor cabinet.” [4]
In addition to this, one might check the individual’s blog; their profile on a social network (hobbies, contacts, employer); their del.icio.us and digg networks, their posts and comments on forums and so forth. This prospect may seem worrying; however it is the individual’s decision to make their information public.
(image courtesy of manu contreras) Finally it is also companies who watch individuals. Most of the time, when we access a website, we are tracked by cookies or we are required to log-in or to register for a service. Companies do this mainly in order to deliver targeted advertising to each single user. They keep track of what the user does, where he is located, which websites he surfs and what content he reads.
How does the surveillance happen? Are users the only ones being watched? There are many different ways of being watched and first of all it must be distinguished between users who type in data/information and organisations that collect data. Users typing in data/information should generally be aware that they can be watched. Registering for an email service, writing a blog, opening an account in a social network are just a few examples of this category. The user will type in information, which will be available to the organisation (or to the public). In the other category the organisations directly collect data from the users (like cookies, ip, visited url, etc.), and most of the time the user is not aware of it. In the latter case the “user” is also categorised. Here are some of the possible means through which internet surveillance is carried out:
- COOKIES: Often, when we visit a website, it stores data in our computer. If we access the same website again, it will recognise us (reading the data it previously sent to us and stored in our computer) and will retrieve the “customized” information.
- IP: Everyone accessing the internet is given an Internet Protocol address. It allows users to be located.
- ISPs track all of the internet traffic data.
- LOGIN: When we log on to a website we are traced. The website knows who we are, and disposes of the information stored during the registration process.
- EMAIL: Upon checking our emails, we are watched. For instance Google displays customized advertisements in the top-bar while we are checking our emails. These ads relate to the content of the email being read (If a friend mentions they are looking to buy a new car, an advertisement indicating “buy a new car” will probably appear.
- SEARCHES: The same happens when we use a search engine.
- BLOGS, FORUMS, and COMMENTS: Again when we type in (and read) data or info, we are tracked.
- PURCHASES: When you buy products/services over the internet you are tracked. E.g. Sainsbury’s website, e-bay, Amazon, Air-Train Tickets, Online Bank Accounts. These websites all keep track of what you buy/bought in order to offer special products related to your profile, make the next purchase quicker, etc.
- SOCIAL NETWORK: When you log in and type or read some information or interact with applications, you are tracked.
- YOU TUBE: you are generally tracked by cookies, or login. The videos you watch, the comments you leave, the videos you upload and so on. But in addition to this we must also take into account the “video content”. This is another form of surveillance. For example if you are part of a video, but you are not an internet user, you will be watched because you appear in that video, and from that video it may be possible to understand the location, who you were with, when it was made, etc. This aspect can be extended to other means of surveillance such as: blogs, social network, where you can “appear” even if you are not an internet user.
- CHAT, CALL, VIDEO CALL: ISP and Telecommunication companies must legally store this kind of data for at least 1 year. [5]
- WIRELESS NETWORK and MOBILE CONNECTIONS: the IP address locates the internet user.
- NETWORKS such as delicious and digg are additional examples of how we can be watched: looking at our bookmarked url, our network, etc.
- GAMES and VIRTUAL LIFE [6]
All of these examples seem to indicate that the internet has made the surveillance society inevitable. But more specific considerations are needed. Is the surveillance society seen as a positive or negative thing? Are there any ways to deal with the surveillance society? Do we have any choices? What an individual sees as advantage, might be seen as a disadvantage from another perspective [7]. Despite this, it is possible to agree on some “common” positive and negative sides.
(image courtesy of OwenBlacker)
Some positive aspects are:
- Safety: e.g. children at school can be monitored over the internet from their parents. [8]
- Protection against terrorism (social network analysis) which can be integrated through the internet.
- The service for online purchases: e.g. Sainsbury’s allows registered customers to order online. This is good for many reasons: you can re-order your previous order to save time, you may receive special offers targeted on your profile, etc. Of course a lot of advertising is included, but you don’t have to accept everything. You are free to choose.
- Being tracked (cookies) allows one for an easy log-in and generally it doesn’t require remembering your password. And if we think how many passwords we need today, it is a big advantage.
- Free content/service: being watched through a website, generally allows free content/services. This is why people can accept being tracked/watched over the internet. [9]
On the other hand, negative aspects might be:
- Companies adopting different rules about privacy and anonymity [10]. It is very common to use self-imposed privacy policies.
- Different countries adopting different rules.
- Social sorting leading to social exclusion and discrimination [11].
- The borders and accessibility of personal data and data flows. [13]
We should also keep in mind that most of these points are double edged: targeted advertisements and targeted marketing (based on user profiles) can be seen as a good or bad thing. Personally, I think it is good because it is not a “must” to click on the ads you receive or accept the customized offers. But of course adverts related to my profile can be more interesting rather than random adverts. I find useful buying a book on the internet and then being advised about other related books/products. There are also services on the internet which allow one to track a mobile phone number. You may track your children’s mobile (in the interest of their safety) but you might also track the mobiles of your employees (which sounds unfair). Google Earth is a wonderful service to find streets, addresses, areas, etc. but when it comes to privacy issues it can be really bad. You can classify an individual and make some assumptions about the social status, based on its house, address, postal code just by having a look at the images in Google Earth.
(image courtesy of Elsie) What emerges from all these considerations seems to be that internet has made the surveillance society inevitable but clearly the surveillance society existed before the internet. CCTV, Oyster Card, etc… are examples of this. Even without the internet, each of us would be captured on over 300 cameras per day [14]. The internet has most likely integrated the surveillance society. There are many different ways in which we can deal with it. First of all we must consider two different perspectives: technical and ethical. Ethically speaking nobody likes to be watched, unless for having some benefits like monitoring health, protection against terrorism, thieves, crime, etc. But the problem here is the difficulty in tracking the borders between benefits and issues of privacy violation. Technically speaking being watched through the internet can be minimized. All we need is a good knowledge and awareness of how we can be watched. Setting up cookies in our browser let us choose whether and when receive them; stopping the execution of scripts; surfing the web anonymously; using different personal information for different website registration processes; creating double identities; using special software that divert the analysis made from website (most of this happen through our searches, and there is software that does automatic random searches in order to divert the website interpretation); choosing the email provider wisely and using adblock. But the best choice would be to use a service on the market: many agencies of this kind are developing. You just pay and they will protect your privacy and information. In this way it is possible surfing the internet with much more privacy and anonymity.
The most common problem is that information and knowledge about surveillance society is not well known.
“… most people know very little about the surveillance society: it is seen as the stuff of science fiction, not everyday life. So there has been very little public debate about surveillance.” [15]
AOL introduced “Penguin” to explain advertisement targeting to its users [16]. It is of course a first step to make people aware of how all it works. In the other hand there has been an issue raised by a company called “Phorm” and three of the biggest ISPs in the UK (BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk).
“The issue is that these ISPs have signed deals to allow a third party unfettered access to ALL of your web browsing”
“BT and Phorm tested the service in secret last summer” [17]
In conclusion, the internet has not made the surveillance society inevitable but it has integrated it. Different people have different feeling even if there is a prevalent sense of being “too much watched”. The problem is lack of information and loose regulation about it. A better and clear regulation would be helpful. Sometimes there is an overlap between Local, National and International laws and regulation amongst different industries (telecommunication, marketing, etc…). Another problem is that regulation has not been able to keep pace with advance of technology. Also the integration between different instruments is a key issue. Laws, self-regulation, privacy-enhancing technologies, individual self-help and market solution: these are many different ways to deal with the surveillance society. And much more public debate and public information and awareness would definitely help people in understanding, dealing with and protecting themselves from the disadvantages of the surveillance society.
[1] http://www.internetworldstats.com/…
[2] http://www.privacyconference2006.co.uk/… - A Report on the Surveillance Society - For the Information Commissioner, by the Surveillance Studies Network - Public Discussion Document - September 2006
[3] http://www.ansa.it/… For another example about Indonesia see the link: http://www.ansa.it/…
[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/…
[5] http://www.ukwatch.net/…
[6] “Toby lives most of his life online on Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), virtual worlds that have their own rules and entire alternative economies. However even here the surveillance society has penetrated. These worlds of data and behaviour of ‘avatars’ online are monitored, particularly by companies, which aim to understand the new opportunities for emerging real-life markets, and there exists a whole new class of corporate game players who exist only to research the habits of people via their avatars and virally market both virtual and real products inside and outside these worlds to their players. Police have also begun to experiment with software that monitors virtual worlds to identify avatars who exhibit certain types of behaviour which could indicate real-world criminal tendencies in their players.” - http://www.privacyconference2006.co.uk/…- A Report on the Surveillance Society - For the Information Commissioner, by the Surveillance Studies Network - Public Discussion Document - September 2006
[7] For example being watched from a company (based on the profile the company tracked upon your internet behavior on its website – e.g. purchase behavior) in order to have customer service priority, it is very efficient for a high spending customer’s point of view but it is seen as a social categorization from a low spending customer’s point of view (who will be served later).
[8] All of this in order to be aware if their children are in the school, what they are doing, how they are doing, what time they leave the school and so on. And again about web-surfing, children can be watched in order to avoid “bad encounters” and bad content. Another positive use of the surveillance society can be thought about old people: they can be watched over the internet through a webcam, or any other kind of sensor so that in case they need help, it will be immediately available.
[9] In this way websites can retrieve behavioural/targeted ads (based on your profile) which allow companies to get money (from advertisers) and provide the services/content they offer (e.g. Facebook, Google, Online newspaper, etc.). This is the main business model in internet. Look at the fight around yahoo: Microsoft, AOL, Google and MySpace, all of these companies are really interested in buy yahoo out. The main reason is because of its ad network.
[10] Most of the companies (e.g. yahoo, msn, google, aol) have different privacy and anonymity rules from each other - http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/…
[11] “In the surveillance society, ‘social sorting’ is endemic. In government and commerce large personal information databases are analysed and categorised to define target markets and risky populations. Once classified, it is difficult to break out of the box. Since 9/11 such sorting may possibly have contributed to safety in the air (we shall never know), but it has certainly led to crude profiling of groups, especially Muslims, which has produced inconvenience, hardship and even torture.” - http://www.privacyconference2006.co.uk/…- A Report on the Surveillance Society - For the Information Commissioner, by the Surveillance Studies Network - Public Discussion Document - September 2006
[13] “Huge stores of personal data held on ordinary people are now central to both private business and public services”. “Data gathered by surveillance technologies flow around computer networks. Many people may consent to giving data in one setting, but what happens if those data are then transferred elsewhere? Yet there is already little knowledge either among the public or among data-sharing agencies about where exactly those data go.” - http://www.privacyconference2006.co.uk/… - A Report on the Surveillance Society - For the Information Commissioner, by the Surveillance Studies Network - Public Discussion Document - September 2006
[14] http://www.privacyconference2006.co.uk/… - A Report on the Surveillance Society - For the Information Commissioner, by the Surveillance Studies Network - Public Discussion Document - September 2006
[15] http://www.privacyconference2006.co.uk/…- A Report on the Surveillance Society - For the Information Commissioner, by the Surveillance Studies Network - Public Discussion Document - September 2006
[16] http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/…
[17] http://www.guardian.co.uk/…
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Two months are already gone since the launch of Google Chrome. Its market share still around 3% (source: w3school accessed on the 6th of November 2008). From the data available, we can see how IE still losing market share. Users who leave IE6 (-2.1%) are more than the ones who move on IE7 (+0.6%). The winner in this battle still Firefox that gained 1.4% of the market share.
