The Surveillance Society: A Criminological Perspective

Abstract

How can the law best balance the rights of citizens to enjoy the sort of privacy envisaged by the framers of Article 12 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights with the legitimate interests that the state (and increasingly the media, corporations, and other private citizens) might have in observing, filming, and monitoring them? What will finding the right balance entail? Will all people be protected equally? These are difficult questions that admit no easy answers. This paper wrestles with the risks to citizens' privacy when they are confronted by the new surveillance society, and considers the policy consequences of the choices that they may make.