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Technology can serve as a valuable ally or, at times, a significant adversary. For instance, Meta and TikTok effectively link millions of individuals with friends and strangers alike. While these platforms offer excellent resources for information and communication, there are legitimate concerns regarding breaches of user privacy and the monetization or potential outright theft of user data.
The same applies to surveillance and security. There often exists a duality where the very surveillance mechanisms intended to protect individuals and prevent crime can also be utilized to suppress and control citizens or even overlook the unlawful actions of those in authority.
To delve deeper into this complex issue, hosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond welcomed prominent hacker and activist Matt Mitchell to the latest episode of The Agenda podcast.
Who is monitoring the monitors?
When prompted to provide examples that fuel his commitment to hacktivism and identify the most pressing threats to the average individual, Mitchell stated:
“You exist as a target of surveillance no matter what you do, right? And it might be commercial surveillance, the cookies on your browser, it might be the tracking on your phone. And normally, the incentive is financial gain, right? So, people want to sell your data to an advertiser to learn more about you so they can monetize it. Even the most failed startup is like sell this data, get out of this problem.”
To highlight the heightened risk of surveillance for communities of color in the United States, Mitchell elaborated:
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“Now, if you are a Black person or you’re in a historically Black community or a majority Black community, that surveillance includes law enforcement surveillance. It also includes private surveillance. That’s commercial surveillance. It might include the housing project you live in or the development community surveillance. And when you put it all together, there’s a 4D, like 4K, super-high-res image of your life because you’re under so many layers of surveillance that there’s almost no space that’s actually your private space.”
Mitchell emphasized that the first lesson he imparts is that “surveillance is bad, and we need to stop it.”
When Salmond remarked that security is fundamentally intended to protect citizens, Mitchell responded:
“For example, let’s say you work as a tech, you have privileged access. So, only you and three other cybersecurity people or data people have access to all the sensitive keys. In the beginning, it’s used to stop abuse on the platform, but at the end, you’re using it to stalk someone you’re romantically interested, right? Because surveillance corrupts you in an insidious way. Kind of like the One Ring.”
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According to Mitchell:
“The group that wields the surveillance tool is not wielding it upon itself. They’re not the ones that are being watched. It is the watcher, not the watchers, that is on the empowerment side of this thing.”
To learn more from Mitchell’s discussion with The Agenda — including his background and the transformative goals of CryptoHarlem — listen to the complete episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Additionally, be sure to explore Cointelegraph’s extensive array of other shows!
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
