Unified surveillance systems: Data mining with PeekYou, GPS and facial recognition

Abstract

Unified surveillance systems threaten to unlock a portal to mass surveillance, swift round ups, incarceration and deportation. By combining data from an array of people tracking technologies, governments and corporations can now instantly locate and monitor entire populations in real time. This paper unveils the mechanics of how these technologies are bound together within the fabric of our daily lives, silently invading our privacy. Research methods include examination of more than 29 articles, an exploration of PeekYou and an interview with an accomplished transportation professional from Seattle, Washington. Privacy-by-design offers the promise of freedom from constant corporate and government scrutiny. Ongoing coerced assent to mass surveillance need not remain our global fate. The United States Constitution, in particular the Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, offers citizens protection from the systematised misapplication of these invasive and largely covert programmes. As such, it is never too late to alter the course of history so that we amplify these technology’s attributes while protecting all people from the abuse inherent in their utilisation.