The paradigm of surveillance

(updated transation of the Swedish article below)

The paradigm of surveillance

By now it should be quite enough with the uncritical mania for surveillance in all spheres. But it however appears as if the proponents of these actions has initiated a development which they themselves have no control over and which it least of all is easy to say where it will lead or where exactly it all really has the possibility of finally coming to an end.

All electronic communications are monitored today – of this we can now be quite sure. This intervention is justified by referring to anti-social activities and serious crimes, and although there has been some slipping on this point so that this justification no longer can be regarded as true, the explanation still finds some resonance in the general consciousness. The original premise is in itself however sufficiently problematic as it may well turn to surveilling of all elements critical of the current development in general and not only that which could be conceived of as real threats.

We are aware of the fact that if something raises the possibility of abuse, this is almost certainly also what will happen. As it's possible for various special interests to scan for specific data that they may have use for, information they can be served by, details which they can exert pressure one way or another by, so it's quite safe to assume that this is what happens and the information put in wider or narrower circulation and use. This is not to count as exaggerated fears.

There has been spread a for some convincing, but after all completely false calm, with the assertion that it would not be “this” or “that” that would be supervised. It has been claimed that no interest is taken in the individual – as usual it's the “big fish” themselves that they only have an interest for... – but the difference is  that everything is now done on such a large scale which leads to more and more opportunities for misuse and with ever more unpredictable consequences.

What has become clear is that the information stored by the authorities very well in itself can be monitored and appropriated by “watchers”, on both the in- or outside, and then we have the problem that all information that is stored is practically available to anyone who happens to possess the technical and practical knowledge as well as a position that allows for access. Apparently this becomes a major problem – the more data that is collected the more can be passed on for arbitrary use and abuse in various spheres. Security problems need not even be mentioned, they are legion.

So as it now stands, when all information and ongoing communications that flow through the omnipresent and everywhere current electronic media is now freely available to those who know how to avail themselves of it and freely use it for their own ends, whatever they may be – in these circumstances the least that we have to worry about is a phenomenon like Wikileaks, which in any case does little more than simply show what actually everywhere already is happening...