And then, there's "soft surveillence".........
The theme of volunteering as good citizenship or patriotism can increasingly be seen in other contexts. Consider a Justice Department “Watch Your Car” program found in many states. Decals which car owners place on their vehicles serve as an invitation to police anywhere in the United States to stop the car if driven late at night. Taxi-cabs in some cities beyond transmitting video images, also invite police to stop and search them without cause, --presumably such searches extend to passengers as well who see the notice and choose to enter the cab.
Another form involves disingenuous communication that seeks to create the impression that one is volunteering when that really isn’t the case.
- the ubiquitous building signs, “In entering here you have agreed to be searched.”
- a message from the Social Security Administration to potential recipients, “while it is voluntary for you to furnish this information, we may not be able to pay benefits to your spouse unless you give us the information.”
- a Canadian airport announcement: “Notice: Security measures are being taken to observe and inspect persons. No passengers are obliged to submit to a search of persons or goods if they choose not to board our aircraft.”
The New York subway system has supplemented the random searches of officers with automated searching by sensing machines. Potential riders need not submit, but then they may not use the subway.
Information collection is unseen and automated (how about the discount "preferred customer cards you use at the grocery store......you have to fill out personal info to get them. Your weekly groceries become a part of "customer profiling". The computer knows who you are. )
Computers scan dispersed personal records for suspicious cases, avoiding, at least initially, any direct review by a human. Similarly x-ray and scent machines “search” persons and goods for contraband without touching them. Inkless fingerprints can be taken without the stained thumb symbolic of the arrested person. Classified government programs are said to permit the remote reading of computers and their transmissions without the need to directly install a bugging device.
Whatever can be revealed from the analysis of blood or urine is also potentially found (although in smaller quantities) in saliva –not only evidence of disease and DNA, but also of drugs taken and pregnancy. This may also be the case for human odor. The recent development of nonelectrical sensors now make it possible to detect molecules at minute levels in saliva. ( New York Times , April 19, 2005).
In many of these cases citizens are at least informed of what is going on, even if the meaning of their consent is often open to question. More troubling is the development of tactics that need not rely on the subject consenting, or even being informed, let alone receiving carrots or avoiding sticks in agreeing to cooperate. New hidden or low visibility technologies increasingly offer the tempting possibility of by-passing awareness, and thus any need for direct consent or other oversight, altogether.
New technologies overcome traditional barriers such as darkness or walls. Night vision technology illuminates what darkness traditionally protected (and the technology is itself protected, unlike an illuminated spotlight). Thermal imaging technology applied from outside can offer a rough picture of a building’s interior based on heat patterns. There is no need for an observer to enter the space. NSA’s satellites engage in warrantless remote monitoring of electronic communication to, or from the United States.
A person’s DNA can be collected from a drinking glass or from discarded dental floss. Facial scanning technology only requires a tiny lens. Smart machines can “smell” contraband eliminating the need for a warrant or asking the sniffed for permission to invade their olfactory space or “see” through their clothes and luggage. Research is also being done with the goal of using human odor to identify specific persons, illness (both mental and physical) and even early pregnancy. 9 . A vacuum like device is also available that can draw the breath away from a person suspected of drunk driving without the need to ask permission.
Beyond the traditional reading of visual clues offered by facial expression, there are claims that the covert analysis of heat patterns around the eyes and of tremors in the voice and measuring brain wave patterns offer windows into feelings and truth telling. 10 . The face still remains a tool for protecting inner feelings and thoughts, but for how long? Different issues are raised by recent improvements in the technology of face transplanting.
Individuals need not be informed that their communication devices, vehicles, wallet cards and consumer items increasingly will have RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips embedded in them. These can be designed to be passively read from up to 30 feet away by unseen sensors. 11 .
In the convoluted logic of those who justify covert (or non-informed) data collection and use, individuals “volunteer” their data by walking or driving on public streets, entering a shopping mall and by failing to hide their faces, wear gloves and encrypt their communication, or by choosing to use a phone, computer or a credit card. The statement of a direct marketer nicely illustrates this: “never ever underestimate the willingness of the American public to tell you about itself. That data belongs to us!
read more at http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/softsurveillance.html
ZBV in action