Resisting geosurveillance: A survey of tactics and strategies for spatial privacy

Abstract

Geosurveillance is continually intensifying, as techniques are developed to siphon ever-increasing amounts of data about individuals. Here we survey three tactics and three strategies for resistance in an attempt to provoke greater discussion about resistance to geosurveillance. Tactics explored include data minimization, obfuscation, and manipulation. Strategies for resisting geosurveillance build upon other forms of resistance and include examination of the assumptions of geosurveillance, investigating privacy-focused software alternatives, and strengthening the ability of activists to operate in this sphere. Individually, each of these are unlikely to effect great change; used in concert, they have the potential to guide technological development in such a way that it is less likely to serve corporate and government interests and more likely to protect individual and group privacy.

Keywords

biometrics geosurveillance resistance strategies tactics

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