From Facebook revolution to surveillance technology
In the beginning of 2011 the Arab Spring took the world by surprise. Around the world people were confronted and inspired by millions of brave citizens who stood up, ousted two dictators and demanded democratic reforms. (Inter) nationally technology like Twitter and Facebook have been praised for these web 2.0 revolutions. While the Facebook revolution discourse has been much debated, the flip side to the technology coin has been ignored.
Activists who work in repressive environments have been confronted with their data traffic, e-mail, telephone record and Facebook friends. This information can only be obtained if one used spyware technology. How did governments and police get all this information and which technology where they using? Only after the Arab spring did the world get an insight into this non transparent market. AccessNow estimates that 80-90% of surveillance technology is produced by European and U.S. companies.
The discussion surrounding surveillance technology is a difficult one. This technology is called dual use technology, as it can be used for both ‘the good’ as for ‘the bad’. In this information age we need software like deep packed inspection (DPI) to keep spam out of our inboxes (DPI can read the content of your email). The sliding slope begins with Western governments proclaiming that we also need DPI to fight crime and terrorism. It becomes an even more difficult question when governments start using this dual use technology to control and harass their citizens. Not to mention to the question that rise when Syria or Iran uses these Western technologies for severe citizen repression.
Now that the cat has gotten out of the bag what can we do about this export of surveillance and spy software? At the moment not much, the tech companies that provide these services are small and do not conform to public pressure, consumers are not their target audience. In Europe there are no laws to confront European companies with their actions abroad and self regulatory principles have only been signed by software companies, like search engines and social networks, which have not stake in it.
However, there is always public pressure on Western governments. Last Friday The U.S. State department, Hilary Clinton, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other European governments came together in The Hague to discuss Internet Freedom and the role and obligation that governments and companies have in the protection of citizen against dual use technology. These are first steps in highly sensitive and difficult subject.
For more information on the surveillance industry please see the Spy Files
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