Imagine writing something deeply personal: a piece of creative fiction or poetry, a diary entry, a CV, or perhaps a speech for a loved one’s funeral.
Now imagine writing these with someone watching every word you typed. Would you feel free to say what you wanted, to say something controversial? Welcome to free expression in the age of big data and pervasive digital surveillance.
Following the Snowden revelations in 2013 that showed the breath-taking scope of state surveillance mechanisms in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, there has been much focus on trying to understand how the right to privacy can function in this new landscape.
And the tension between privacy and surveillance has recently been heightened even further. First, the passing of the Investigatory Powers Act in 2016 expanded state surveillance capabilities, while reinforcing the permissive attitude towards these powers of the UK state. Then, the recent Cambridge Analytica controversy showed how our digital persona can be co-opted or weaponised by opaque private companies for political ends.
But the impact of surveillance is bigger than this.
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