week 11 resistance and opposition Flashcards
Q: What is meant by “The Right to Hide” in surveillance studies?
A: It refers to the idea that individuals should have the right to avoid being tracked or surveilled, especially in a world of pervasive surveillance.
Q: What are “mouse jigglers” and how do they relate to workplace surveillance?
A: Devices or software that move a computer cursor to fake productivity and avoid digital monitoring.
Q: What is facial ID and how does it create a “data double”?
A: Facial ID systems measure facial features to generate a unique mathematical profile — a “data double” — used for identification and stored in databases.
Q: What is “aestheticization of resistance”?
A: The use of artistic expression (like face paint) as anti-surveillance camouflage — a personal protest against facial recognition.
Q: What is Monahan’s critique of aesthetic resistance?
A: He argues that focusing on individual acts of resistance (like fashion or face paint) can obscure deeper structural issues of surveillance, such as profit motives, racism, and sexism.
Q: How can privacy settings reproduce a false sense of control?
A: While they seem to give users agency, they often do very little to stop back-end data collection (e.g., TikTok still tracking and selling user data).
Q: What’s Monahan’s view on privacy tools in gender-based tech violence?
A: He argues that blaming women for not protecting themselves with settings reinforces victim-blaming and ignores systemic issues like misogyny and tech-facilitated abuse.
Q: What is ALPR technology?
A: A camera-based surveillance system that scans license plates, compares them to databases, and creates data records whether there’s a match or not.
Q: What’s a “hit” vs a “non-hit” in ALPR?
A: Hit: A match is found, prompting investigation.
Non-hit: No match, but the scan still creates a data record (time, location, plate info).
Q: How does ALPR function like “Control+F”?
A: It scans characters, turns them into base text, and searches for matches in a database — similar to a text search on a computer.
Q: How does ALPR contribute to the surveillant assemblage?
A: ALPR integrates with cameras, processors, and databases, connecting surveillance of vehicles with population analysis and data doubles.
Q: What did BC’s Privacy Commissioner rule about license plates and ALPR?
A: License plates can be considered personal information if used in combination with other data to build a profile or trace biographical patterns.
Q: What is the danger of storing non-hit ALPR data?
A: It can be used to track law-abiding individuals, revealing patterns of life and amounting to indiscriminate mass surveillance.
Q: What is an example of mission creep with ALPR in Canada?
A: Originally used for road safety, ALPR has been repurposed to track people for counter-terrorism, organized crime, and even used by private parking companies.
Q: What is the privacy concern with data profiling in ALPR systems?
A: ALPR can produce data doubles, disproportionately monitor certain areas, and create biased policing patterns — despite legal limits on data retention.
Q: What is a geofencing warrant and how is it related to ALPR?
A: A law enforcement request for data from a specific area (like all devices near a cell tower), similar in concept to ALPR scans, raising mass surveillance concerns.
