Living in a Surveillance Society

I have expressed my disquiet about the big brother world in which we live, notwithstanding the fact that it is things like surveillance cameras that have helped us identify and arrest would be bombers, murderers and other ne'er-do-wells. It seems that this is a small part of the price that we pay for security in an open society. And lets face it, surveillance in an open society is better than surveillance in a closed one, given that we probably only turn to the footage when we are looking for something specific rather than using it to look at everything and everyone all the time. I guess we should be thankful for small mercies.

Nevertheless, that sense of disquiet remains, especially when looked at against a background of a society in which long standing individual rights are slowly but surely eroded by a generation of petty, small-minded and mean-spirited politicians.

Add to this new 'miracle' technologies like the much heralded Galileo satellite system, which comes on stream sometime soon. This multi-billion pound system will be similar to the GPS system currently run by the military in the United States. There are great benefits to be had from the system (besides the pin-point accuracy of the so called 'smart' bomb), particularly for navigation. Ships, aircraft, walkers and motorists use the system which allows them to pinpoint their positions and to navigate accurately using GPS receivers of different sorts. It is a boon for motorists, who can now get relatively cheap off-the-shelf systems which talks one through the intricate streets of our cities, and deliver us to our destinations. No more fold out maps and rows with the missus. Simply listen to your choice of voices. A plus is that new car navigation systems can warn of the presence of speed cameras. However, don't get too excited about this - Grasping Gordon is sure to  find some way of protecting this nice little stealth tax, even given that many are now questioning the 'fact' that speed cameras save lives.

But what happens if we are forced to take Galileo on board? Essentially, it provides bureaucrats with the means to monitor our every move - our speed, our stops, our destinations, the kind of vehicle we are using... when, where and how we drive. It could even enable them to prevent us driving. It also provides them with the power to tax us variably with respect to which roads we use, and when. While this might be seen as more equitable, it could also have a negative effect on routing, encouraging 24 wheelers to take to smaller roads in an effort to cut down on costs, turning country lanes into rat runs.

The idea of being watched even more than we already are fills me with dread, and it will take a lot to convince me that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Powerful technologies simply offer too much potential for abuse.


A useful link: Smile: You're on Somebody's Surveillance Camera WXP News vol 5, 30 - issue 186 (July 26, 2005) |:| Galileo |:| The seedy side of Galileo  |:| Surveillance aircraft  |:| Other scary stuff - Reuters |:|