Beyond "1984': New Frontiers of Mass Surveillance

The controversy regarding airport body scans and pat-downs has reached concert pitch as mainstream media resonates with coverage of outraged air travelers and as civil liberties organization, such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) , file suit in federal court to stop the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from conducting body scans at US airports.

The central issue that is now being raised is how far government should be permitted to go in restricting privacy in the interest of national security.  The challenge is to balance such interest against the right to privacy.  This means using technologies that are effective but which are designed to safeguard privacy.  Thus scanners are now possible that can provide representations rather than actual details of an individual's naked body. However, this is not the current path that has been plotted by technocrats.  

Unless we draw a line in the sand very soon, the surveillance technologies that are in store for us will predictably make body scans and aggressive pat-downs look like respectful treatment.  To give you a clearer idea of what may be in store for us, just take a look at this except from my new book on Mass Surveillance and State Control .  This is no longer science fiction! Take a read .