Surveillance after September 11

Abstract

The aftermath of terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 includes widespread tightening of surveillance. The responses are a prism that puts several things in perspective. One, it is premature to see decentralised and commercial surveillance simply supplanting nation-state power. Rather, the nation-state now draws upon an augmented surveillant assemblage for its own purposes. Two, reliance on high tech surveillance methods is undaunted by the low-tech attacks or the failure of high tech security systems already in place. While they may not work to curb terrorism they are likely to impede civil rights for citizens who will be even more profiled and screened. Three, the struggle to make mushrooming surveillance systems more democratically accountable and amenable to ethical scrutiny is being set back by panic regimes following September 11.

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