Transparency and Surveillance as Sociotechnical Accountability
Author | : Deborah G. Johnson |
Publisher | : Routledge |
Total Pages | : 203 |
Release | : 2014-07-11 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781317631873 |
ISBN-13 | : 1317631870 |
Rating | : 4/5 (73 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Surveillance and transparency are both significant and increasingly pervasive activities in neoliberal societies. Surveillance is taken up as a means to achieving security and efficiency; transparency is seen as a mechanism for ensuring compliance or promoting informed consumerism and informed citizenship. Indeed, transparency is often seen as the antidote to the threats and fears of surveillance. This book adopts a novel approach in examining surveillance practices and transparency practices together as parallel systems of accountability. It presents the house of mirrors as a new framework for understanding surveillance and transparency practices instrumented with information technology. The volume centers around five case studies: Campaign Finance Disclosure, Secure Flight, American Red Cross, Google, and Facebook. A series of themed chapters draw on the material and provide cross-case analysis. The volume ends with a chapter on policy implications.