This webpage is designed to help you understand what Surveillance Capitalism is, how you can protect yourself and information, and why its important to do so.
WHAT is Surveillance Capitalism?
Surveillance Capitalism can be described as plainly as companies or service providers presenting the illusion of a free service, with the data and information you choose to imbue into it as the currency used to pay for said service.
This idea is illustrated further from Donell Holloway from the Conversation, “Surveillance capitalism describes a market driven process where the commodity for sale is your personal data, and the capture and production of this data relies on mass surveillance of the internet. This activity is often carried out by companies that provide us with free online services, such as search engines (Google) and social media platforms (Facebook).”
How Does propaganda contribute to Surveillance Capitalism?
"The main goal is to undercut the very idea of truth and distract the audience. And it’s not just Fox News or partisan websites. Because so much propaganda today is about framing the conversation on false terms or overwhelming the public with disinformation," (Illing, Vox).
As seen in the quote above, we can begin to understand how the infusion of modern digital propaganda is as Vox puts "undercutting the truth," is what these companies like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X (Twitter), or Snapchat want. They want to track your behavior and reactions to this information. Their goal is to see what type of social climate you are more likely to lean towards. They sell your data, only for it to bounce back as pop-ups polluting your screen about politics.
In other words, the relationship between Propaganda and Surveillance Capitalism is not so complex. Surveillance Capitalism is the mis-marketed facade of a free-to-use service that will only ever benefit you and improve your life. While Propaganda is your data being boomerang-ed back to you to cause polarization. This combination is why seeing family/friends post about the election on Facebook can be so needlessly tense.
Why You Should protect yourself and YOur Information:
To understand why you ought to protect yourself, you need to understand what's at stake. Failing to protect yourself online, can lead to the breach of nearly all of the information you can think of. Even if you were to not include certain details about yourself, it still may be deduced from your online activity, or your IP address, as well as other methods. However, this gathering of information and data is not limited to you, it may lead to online scammers/phishers finding out details about family and friends via your details. This information may include, when you graduated high school, your age, your address, your parents' address, financial details, and other very personal data.
How can you protect against Surveillance Capitalism?
Browsing Anonymously - This involves concealing your identity, maybe using a private browser or location to prevent tracking. This can be achieved with a Tor network or VPN (Virtual Private Network).
VPN - "When you use a VPN, your internet traffic is encrypted, making it much more difficult for anyone to intercept your data. Additionally, your IP address is hidden when you use a VPN, making it impossible for anyone to track your online activity back to you. With a VPN, you can browse the internet in peace, secure in the knowledge that your personal information is safe and your privacy is protected," (Garmon, 'Stay Under the Radar: The Ultimate Guide to Evading Internet Surveillance').
Encrypting your communication - Encryption is coding your communication in a "secret language" that only you and those who you want to to understand it. By encrypting your communication you make it exponentially more difficult to use your information even if obtained.
Safe Social Presence - By limiting the amount of information you share on social media and how many people have that access you avoid a lot of trouble. This also includes not opening/clicking on unfamiliar messages or links.
DeleteMe - DeleteMe is a service that is intended for those worried about their privacy and are unburdened financially. It is a paid service that will "remove your personal data online" and will continuously do so as long as you are subscribed.
Takeaways:
Hopefully from this webpage you were able to grasp a few key ideas. Specifically, What Surveillance Capitalism is, The dangerous relationship between Surveillance Capitalism and Propaganda, Why it is important to protect yourself and your information, and How may you protect yourself and information.
Sources
“Secure Your Information and Privacy - for Consumers.” Deleteme, 16 Oct. 2024, www.deleteme.com/.
Naughton, John. “‘The Goal Is to Automate Us’: Welcome to the Age of Surveillance Capitalism.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Jan. 2019, www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/20/shoshana-zuboff-age-of-surveillance-capitalism-google-facebook.
Garmon, Gregory J. “Stay under the Radar: The Ultimate Guide to Evading Internet Surveillance.” Surveillance Guides, 5 Dec. 2023, surveillanceguides.com/avoiding-internet-surveillance-the-complete-guide/.
Illing, Sean. “How Propaganda Works in the Digital Age.” Vox, 18 Oct. 2019, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/18/20898584/fox-news-trump-propaganda-jason-stanley.
Democracy Now! “Age of Surveillance Capitalism: “We Thought We Were Searching Google, But Google Was Searching Us.” YouTube, 2019, youtu.be/Vo6K-bPh39M.
Credits:
Created with images by • APchanel - A Dome CCTV infrared camera technology 4.0 for look security area of people at restaurant signage with checking and courting people in green boxed security area • Tierney - VPN concept with downtown San Francisco skyline buildings • namning - Double exposure of stocks market chart in blue on LED display concept with city scape hong kong background • DIgilife - Cybersecurity cybercrime internet scam, digital wallet business finance crypto currency investment VPN network technology computer virus attack risk protect, identity encryption privacy data hacking • as-artmedia - Security guard monitoring modern CCTV cameras in surveillance room. Female security guard in surveillance room.