NCJ Number
227642
Editor(s)
Benjamin J. Goold,
Daniel Neyland
Date Published
2009
Length
239 pages
Annotation
Concerns about expanded means and policies of surveillance that impact individual privacy are addressed from differing perspectives by leading academics in sociology, law, management studies, literary analysis, and Internet studies.
Abstract
This collection of eight papers is organized around three main themes. The first theme pertains to the possibility of regulating surveillance activities and providing privacy protection. This involves questioning the adequacy of current protections designed to ensure privacy, the possibility of developing regulations that take into account rapidly expanding technological systems, and the justification and necessity of giving up civil liberties and privacy protections in return for apparent increases in protection against threats to life and the general welfare. The second theme focuses on technologies and techniques of surveillance. It investigates the possibilities of rendering surveillance policymakers and managers accountable for its adverse impacts on those targeted, as well as emerging public manifestations of opposition to increased surveillance. The third theme of the collection focuses on the future of privacy and surveillance. This includes an analysis of a fictional surveillance system of the future. By expanding the discussion of emerging surveillance technologies, along with rationales and policies for their use, this collection of papers intends to discourage the premature emergence of a consensus in the community that studies surveillance technology/techniques and their impact on individuals and society as a whole. The editors believe it is increasingly important to encourage diverse opinions and perspectives on this issue, such that trends are examined from all perspectives, with the aim of avoiding the institutionalization of policies that undermine the core values of a democratic society. Chapter notes, references, and a subject index