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Watching the watchers

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a counter-surveillance workshop

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(pilot)

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We would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.

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Who are we?

  • coveillance.org
  • Facilitators today: Katherine, Jean, Bonnie
  • With Micah, Os, & Priya
  • With Jen and Shankar at ACLU of Washington
  • Supported by Center for Arts, Design + Social Research

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Goal: answer these Qs

How does modern surveillance work?

How am I being surveilled in daily life?

How can I and we take action?

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Also: test run

material! Feedback

welcome!

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What’s happening today?

  • Opening conversation
  • Exercises
  • Walking tour of surveillance infrastructure
  • Collaboratively mapping oral histories of surveillance
  • Closing conversation & how to take action

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Code of Conduct

  1. Respect each other’s boundaries, identities, and lived experiences.
  2. We will not tolerate verbal or physical behavior that reinforces social structures of domination, e.g. related to gender, sexuality, race, disability, appearance, or religion. If you violate this, we will ask you to leave.
  3. Please opt out at any point or talk to any of us privately if you feel uncomfortable.
  4. People here come from diverse backgrounds. Help us create a supportive environment for learning and sharing by respecting folks’ areas of expertise and not feigning surprise.

adapted from Recurse Center and Geek Feminism code of conduct

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Intros + Icebreakers

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What brought you to the room today?

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OR (pick one)

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What’s one question you have about surveillance?

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How do we define the practice of surveillance?

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Monitoring people in order to regulate their behavior using tools and thinking

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Jan. 9, 2020, NBC News -- "Many Latinos believe a citizenship question will be asked on the 2020 census and are less likely to participate, a national Latino leader told Congress on Thursday[...] Last June, the Supreme Court ruled the administration could not add the question about citizenship to the census. The court found the administration’s justification for adding the question was “contrived”. [...]“The 2020 census could leave communities across the country undercounted, underrepresented and underfunded,” Maloney said."

January 21, 2020, CNET.com-- "What if a stranger could snap your picture on the sidewalk, then use an app to quickly discover your name, address and other details? A startup called Clearview AI has made that possible, and its app is being used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies in the US, including the FBI, according to a Saturday report in The New York Times. [...] The app, says the Times, works by comparing a photo to a database of more than 3 billion pictures that Clearview says it's scraped off Facebook, Venmo, Youtube and other sites. It then serves up matches, along with links to the sites where those database photos originally appeared. A name might easily be unearthed, and from there other info could be dug up online.The size of the Clearview database dwarfs others in use by law enforcement. The FBI's own database, which taps passport and driver's license photos, is one of the largest, with over 641 million images of US citizens."

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Moments in the history of surveillance and power

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Moments in the history of surveillance and power

How else does surveillance affect different groups of people differently today?

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Playing the watcher

Social Media Fortune Telling: What can someone learn about you from your online life?

Pair up. Sharing options: your resume, your social media, searching your name

What is a purchase your partner might make?

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How has surveillance both changed and stayed the same?

WiFi spy

Exercise material borrowed from BrangerBriz

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Let’s take a hike

We will spot...

  • Surveillance camera
  • Amazon Go (machine cashier)
  • Traffic camera / license plate reader
  • Acyclica (real life wifi spy)
  • AT&T peering site (NSA wiretap site)

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Wait Wait,

Don’t Track Me!

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(You)

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This is not a cybersecurity workshop: beyond self defense

What is the “most elegant next step?”

Discovery: Can I file a public information request?

Targeting: Can I create a petition? Attend a meeting?

Mobilizing: Can I find a space to convene and build networks?

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(You)

Who?

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?

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?

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?

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Stopping a flow

Cambridge comprehensive surveillance ordinance: Dec. 2018

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Amazon Ring�Law Enforcement Liaison/Territory Manager, Ring Law Enforcement Portal and Neighbors App

Cambridge Police

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Opportunities to get involved with ACLU of Washington

State-wide bills:

  • Face Surveillance Moratorium
  • Robot Decision Making Accountability
  • Commonsense License Plate Data Security (ALPRs)
  • Data Privacy

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Seattle Surveillance Ordinance

Corporate Advocacy

Tech Fairness Coalition

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What do you feel moved to do?

Surveillance is big. Find 2-3 other people with expertise different from yours.

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Starting with a question, propose an action or intervention.

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How can we be between worlds? “The One We’ve Got, The One We’re Building, and the Ones We Imagine”

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Borrow freely from history and explore on any scale—personal, communal, institutional.

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Stay in touch!

Us: coveillance@protonmail.com

(INSERT CONTACT INFO OF FACILITATORS & ORGS)

Seattle Surveillance Ordinance listserv: https://mailman.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/seattle-surveillance-ordinance

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Feedback?

How can we improve this workshop?