Data Harvesting or Tayloring our Needs? Life in the Surveillance Society

Abstract

Surveillance is heavily entwined with issues of power relations; those with power have access to the means to allow for greater inspection and need this information to monitor, control and influence the masses. The political discourses surrounding surveillance fluctuate: sometimes it is viewed as a positive aspect of society which allows individuals’ safety and freedom, and ensures governments can fairly and accurately allocate resources and ensure the functionality of social institutions. At other times surveillance is seen in a negative light wherein government control and forms of legislation are weaponised as a tool of oppression in a system of inequality.