Our Resignation to Mass Surveillance

When I was a kid, my father, having walked across most of war-torn Europe as a child with his mother during WWII, in order to escape Communism in Russia and find a better way of life, would use the analogy of salami slices to explain to me how authoritarian/totalitarian governments come to power. “If they (dictators, despots, authoritarian governments) do things all at once, in big movements, it’s too much for people and they revolt. But if they do things slowly, a little salami slice at a time, pretty soon people are facing a whole big salami without realizing how it ever got there.” I learned of the frog in the pot analogy soon after, but it wasn’t until many years later that I learned that the salami slice analogy actually originated “in the late 1940s by Stalinist dictator Matyas Rakoski to describe the actions of the Hungarian Communist Party in its ultimately successful drive for complete power in Hungary.” (Wikipedia, “Salami slicing tactics”)

In 1998, the movie Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith, came out in theaters. I remember it well, because as cheesy and inaccurate as the movie was, it gave me a way to explain to people (in a very limited analogy) what I was doing a few years later working in intelligence at the strategic level in the Department of Defense. After talking to friends and family that watched it, I was not surprised at the reaction coming from most of them: disbelief, amazement, consternation… However, I was somewhat surprised to discover how little people actually knew about U.S. space systems and electronic intelligence capabilities, cyberspace capabilities, and the roles and responsibilities of members of the United States Intelligence Community. I was also very disappointed to learn how little citizens of the United States knew about, or even seemingly cared, about the preservation of their individual rights, given how capable and potentially intrusive surveillance systems owned by the intelligence community could be. They assumed our government was only looking out for “bad guys” and was incapable of doing anything nefarious to its own citizens. Meanwhile, I thanked God for members of Congress serving on oversight committees and intelligence directives that kept intelligence organizations honest.

Then came 9-11 and the enactment of the PATRIOT Act of 2001, increasing powers of the U.S. government to surveil its citizens. (Surveillance for the sake of Security) I personally was concerned about giving up too many of our rights for the sake of additional security, but I was especially unhappy about the low and constant war drum beat I perceived coming from the Bush Administration in the summer of 2002. I told my wife the same, and that the movement to justify war meant that it was inevitable. We knew Saddam Hussein was not Al Qaeda, that going to war in 2003 with Iraq over 9-11 events did not make sense, and there was a lack of intelligence to justify it.

Donald Rumsfeld’s ability to influence intelligence reports over the course of a couple weeks, however, to discover “new intelligence” that Iraq posed an imminent threat to our national security due to its possession of WMD, made sure we went to war. Nine years later in his memoirs, Rumsfeld admitted his “misstatement”, but blamed the Bush administration for misleading the public. (theguardian.com, Donald Rumsfeld book admits ‘misstatements’ over WMD sites, 7 Feb 2011) Incidentally, Iraq did have WMD, but use of the term was a red herring; by definition, Weapons of Mass Destruction includes Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosives, or CBRNE, and we, the United States, did supply Saddam Hussein with chemical weapons years previously for use against Iran. However, Iraq did not have nuclear weapons or a capability to produce them as many were led to believe.

In 2002 and subsequent years, activists, like Michael Moore, frequently voiced their opposition to the Patriot Act. Moore produced the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. From the movie’s Wiki site, “Moore alleges that the Bush administration induced a climate of fear among the American population through the mass media. Moore then describes purported anti-terror efforts, including government infiltration of pacifist groups and other events, and the signing of the USA PATRIOT Act.”

Most Americans today do not remember the PATRIOT Act and fewer know what it does. If they ever knew that the term “PATRIOT” was an acronym for Providing Appropriate Tools to Restrict, Intercept, and Obstruct Terrorism, today they are much less likely to understand how it continues to be used for collection or how it might possibly pose a threat to their own privacy rights. Interestingly, during a September 2021 appearance on The Hill, Moore stated, “People now don’t trust the government … especially the Trumpsters… They don’t believe the results of the election, they don’t want to get vaccinated… We’re in a dark moment here.” So what changed? How could someone that was so opposed to propaganda through mass media, the government instilling fear and infiltration of pacifist groups, and concern over the signing of the PATRIOT Act be so indifferent to those same things occurring 17 years later and even hostile to those expressing the same concerns he had decades before? That answer will have to wait for future writing.

In 2007, Privacy International conducted a survey of 47 countries from a surveillance perspective, noting an increase in surveillance and a decline in privacy safeguards compared to previous years. Also in 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated that we are, “…in danger of tipping into a genuine surveillance society completely alien to American values” with “the potential for a dark future where our every move, our every transaction, our every communication is recorded, compiled, and stored away, read to be examined and used against us by the authorities whenever they want.” A brief glance at the headlines on Privacy International’s website today include:

-”Statement before the European Parliament hearing on ‘Spyware’”

-”UK High Court orders groundbreaking redress for thousands of migrants affected by unlawful phone seizures and data extraction”

-”Stop GPS tagging migrants”

-”Demanding Identity Systems on Our Terms”

-”Security Should Protect People, Not Exploit Them”

-”When Social Media Makes You a Target”

It would appear the Surveillance State and threats to our data privacy are alive and well.

In 2015, I remembered reading a hardcopy USA Today newspaper provided free at a hotel I was staying at on a business trip. One of the articles stood out with the title: “New Police Radars Can ‘See’ Inside Homes,” with the subheading: “At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies quietly deployed radars that let them effectively see inside homes, with little notice to the courts or the public.”

In 2015 “At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies quietly deployed radars that let them effectively see inside homes, with little notice to the courts or the public.”

The article went on to describe the system. The “…finely tuned motion detectors, using radio waves to zero in on movements as slight as human breathing from a distance of more than 50 feet… can detect whether anyone is inside of a house, where they are and whether they are moving.” The article addressed the controversy surrounding those 50 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, using the technology, and quoting judges saying “the government’s warrantless use of such a powerful tool to search inside homes poses grave Fourth Amendment questions.” The article noted the U.S. Marshals Service had purchased such systems (like the RANGE-R handheld) since 2012. I found it concerning that no one I knew in law enforcement, or even the military, had heard of such technology.

Fast forward to 2019, now out in the civilian world, I found myself dealing with emerging technologies including traffic sensors, interactive public kiosks, autonomous vehicles, and drones as a public servant focused on Smart City initiatives in the City Hall of a major metropolitan area. Once again, I found myself concerned about how little the residents in that municipality knew about the hundreds of sensors surrounding them throughout their city blocks and selling their data to private entities, many to which even the city was unaware. More concerning was my discovery that city and county governments had very little public transparency in their Public Private Partnerships (P3s) and agreements with tech industries, emplacing so many potentially privacy-violating sensors amongst the people… and that was before learning of all the Smart City tech planning to be included in the new local airport! Interrogation of personal cell phones, facial recognition, license plate readers… all intrusive technologies. But the ones that seemed to concern citizens the most were facial recognition and autonomous drones prepositioned to respond to crimes, providing “eyes on” immediately after a crime was detected, through 911 calls or perhaps acoustic triangulation from technologies like ShotSpotter gunshot detection system.

An article appearing online in The Verge in July 2019 announced, “Orlando Police Once Again Ditch Amazon’s Facial Recognition Software.” The article noted the “setback for Rekognition, which has been plagued by criticism of its contributions to bias policing, unlawful surveillance, and racial profiling, as well as the clandestine way Amazon has gone about selling it to police departments while it’s still in active development.” The article informed readers the only way the first use of the facial recognition software by the police department came to light only through documents obtained by and revealed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

On its website, 17 May 2022, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported, “Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by a European Union proposal for combatting child sexual abuse under which the content of instant messaging apps, including encrypted ones, would be subjected to constant scanning. If adopted, such a radical measure would jeopardise journalists’ work.” On 6 July 2022, the European Parliament temporarily allowed the providers of web-based email, chats, and messaging services to monitor their users and their associated materials. (Surveillance in the name of Safety) They sound the alarm, but again appear limited to admiring the problem.

I sometimes find myself pondering, “Why are so many citizens in our country oblivious to the fact that their personal data is being stolen, as it is not compensated for by big tech companies? When they do find out, why aren’t they enraged?” This is something I cannot understand. Why so many individuals, seemingly concerned about privacy right violations under the PATRIOT Act decades ago, have remained silent during lockdowns, closures of churches, vaccine mandates, Big Tech censorship, COVID passports and surveillance for contract tracing during the COVID crisis of 2020-2023 is also beyond me. Even worse, many of those individuals look forward to integrating Smart technology into all aspects of their lives for convenience. (Surveillance for the sake of Convenience) Maybe they did not notice, or did not feel, the heavy hand of the government pushing down on them from 2020-20203? If they felt it, is it possible they chose to ignore it or now choose to forget it? Few are actually willing to stand up and do something about it. But why?

Maybe it is simple laziness and an unwillingness to understand the world around them that causes folks not to appreciate the threats to their privacy and liberties? Maybe the lack of concern is motivated by politics and individuals choosing not to hold their elected officials accountable, because they share the same political affiliation? Maybe it simply originates from a passive resignation to Big Tech’s influence in our lives, or our overreliance and addiction to our smart devices, or thinking that we are not intelligent enough to comprehend tech or maybe the outlook that we are too few and too small to make any real difference in all the changes happening around us? Maybe it’s because people continue to trust their government to do the right thing and take care of them, or mistakenly think the Constitution protects them? Or, quite possibly, it’s because individuals thought the intrusion into peoples’ lives using their devices, for COVID vaccines or digital passports, was a necessity? (Surveillance for the sake of Safety)

On the Electronic Privacy Information Center website, EPIC.org, a banner proudly proclaims, “We all share a fundamental right to privacy.” EPIC states it “focuses public attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues and protects privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age.” Epic is frequently cited in major news outlets and maintains several additional websites: thepublicvoice.org, privacycoalition.org, and csisac.org.

On EPIC’s About Us page, it lists what it believes in:

“Privacy is a fundamental right.

We all deserve protection from abusive data practices like mass surveillance, browser tracking, demographic profiling, and data discrimination. Protecting privacy means preserving our digital autonomy, individual freedom, and democratic values.

The internet belongs to the people who use it.

Standards for privacy, free speech, and human rights online should not defined by corporations or unaccountable government actors. We believe in balancing the scale in favor of the billions of people who rely on the internet in their day-to-day lives.

There’s a responsible way to use technology.

Technology can enrich our lives and enable new possibilities for the future. But these systems can also threaten our fundamental values. That is why we advocate for meaningful oversight of data collection and processing systems to ensure that users are protected from abuse, exploitation, discrimination, and invasive surveillance.”

I fully and completely agree with these statements, as I hope most freedom loving Americans do as well.

There is one technology I am especially concerned with, as I believe it is a precursor to what lies ahead with respect to the system that manages digital identities: e-governance.

Diia is a mobile app, a web portal, and a brand of e-governance in Ukraine. From its Wiki page:

“Launched in 2020, the Diia app allows Ukrainian citizens to use digital documents in their smartphones instead of physical ones for identification and sharing purposes. The Diia portal allows access to over 50 governmental services. Eventually, the government plans to make all kinds of state-person interactions available through Diia.”

18 January 2023, Axios.com wrote in an online article that Samantha Power, USAID Administrator, at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, announced “The U.S. hopes to replicate the success of an e-governance app used in Ukraine in other countries.” According to the article, Diia allows “citizens to access ID documents, register a business and obtain various government services from their smartphones” Also, conveniently, and likely unprecedented in an e-governance app, “Since Russia’s invasion began last year, the app has been expanded to include additional tools like reporting damage from Russian strikes.” Presumably with an ability to report locations of Russian soldiers and equipment and their movements, as well. Similar e-governance apps exist across the United States, especially in larger cities. But when one arrives that is the accepted, official federal government version, I believe it will become clear just how far the threat to our God-given rights has come.

I should emphasize, I am not a luddite. Tools like Smart City or Smart Home devices and e-governance apps are not evil in and of themselves. Many individuals, that work to further digital equity and that speak to the importance of digital access for all, have sincerely good intentions. However, most smart devices and many apps have inherent systems or capabilities that can easily be exploited for selfish or even evil purposes, including data privacy violations, PII collection and and/or surveillance. The difficulty lies in learning of those inherent or deliberate collection capabilities and informing our loved ones, friends, and civil leaders of the associated risks. I, personally, would rather “err” on the side of digital inconvenience than allow those intrusive capabilities into my life.

The stealing of our data unbeknownst to us is one thing. Passively acquiescing to Big Tech and Big Government accessing our digital devices to build a digital prison around us, infringing on our rights, stealing our data and creating a society in which we are surveilled, analyzed, studied, followed and logged, is another. At the grassroots level, a few individuals are fighting, at least trying to get the word out as Big Tech and Big Government collect Big Data and work to circumvent the desires of the citizens of our country to maintain our digital integrity and digital privacy. Some individuals, like Salty Annie or Patriot Mama, are sounding the alarm. But unfortunately, larger organizations that continue to note the significant changes and threats to our digital rights seem to be unable to do much about them.

One individual, Aman Jabbi, a Smart Cities subject matter expert and Silicon Valley whistleblower, has recently been sounding the alarm of a coming mandatory Digital Identity and the rise of the American surveillance state. He occasionally reminds me that data privacy is a red herring and that data privacy advocates have already missed the boat, failing to recognize the digital prison being built around us daily, and that in the Central Bank Digital Currency economy, governments will use both “carrots and sticks” to encourage us to join in. While I agree with his assessment that the coercive systems are already here, as well as the dangers posed by digital surveillance through a Digital Identity, I still believe that there is still value in engaging data privacy advocates and organizations as they already understand the dangers to individuals that come from intrusive technologies. They also have an existing platform to sound the alarm. Aman focuses his energy on advocating for removal of surveillance technology at the grass roots level, and I believe that has its potential benefits as well.

God willing, people will wake up. God willing, they will demand to maintain their digital rights and demand more data privacy. But I fear Aman may be right and it’s already too late in some respects. Too many of us are too attached to our phones, too attached to the simplicity and immediate gratification that comes from our devices. Even with the Surveillance State rearing its head on the horizon, rattling the chains it brings with it, we continue to submit to “the powers that be”, but really to our passions, our addictions to ease and convenience. AI will only further resign us to reliance on digital technology, because it will be so attractive! In AI, we will find companionship and conversation, attention and even “love” in our devices. AI will provide answers to questions that so many are seeking, but really only looking to the wrong origin for what is Truth. Adding Virtual Reality or NeuralLink into the equation further hammers in the role and position that AI will have in our lives, in our bodies, and ultimately in our souls.

In conclusion, the final salami slices are being cut, and they are coming at us at a dizzying pace. We’ve seen this occurring over decades, or we should have had we been vigilant. The creation of the giant salami in front of our faces is very near complete. These are the last moments before we truly find ourselves in the midst of a digital prison. We can, and should, pray to God, asking for wisdom and insights into how best slow, or possibly even stop, the inevitable digital prison being built around us. We might not be able to stop that movement, but we may be able to slow it significantly at the lowest levels, and especially with respect to ourselves. When the digital prison is complete, if our faith and our salvation are real and a priority to us, we must be able to drop the device and learn to survive outside of it. We must refuse to submit to a digital identity and even resolve to live the lives of martyrs. Our souls, and the lives of those we love, depend on this. May God be merciful to all of us, and may He give us the wisdom and resolve to act according to His Will.

DigitalWarrior

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