When the ‘information revolution’ and the US security state collide

Abstract

For law enforcement agencies, the ‘information revolution’ is eroding their capacity to regulate money laundering, thereby undermining their ability to combat drug trafficking and terrorism. They argue that without enhanced surveillance powers, these problems will be exacerbated. This emphasis on the control problems precipitated by technology distorts our understanding of the relationship between the ‘information revolution’ and money laundering, much of which has been fuelled not by technology but by the dynamic interaction between technology developments and ongoing changes in criminal justice policy and the US state. An alternative narrative is sketched: the escalation of the US’s failed ‘War on Drugs’ has been a key factor driving both money laundering and the proliferation of surveillance countermeasures. In this context, information and communication technologies have been key resources/sites of struggle for both money launderers and law enforcement. The expansion of surveillance powers will do little to curb illicit action. Indeed, the expansion may escalate laundering as well as erode citizens’ privacy. The article suggests that a similar dynamic may be operating in the US state’s ‘New War on Terrorism’.