Surveillance: A sign of the times

Norwegian Le Monde diplomatique editor Truls Lie looks at the new EU directive on telephone and Internet surveillance through the lens of Michel Foucault's theory of the Panopticon. Humanity is getting a new self-image, writes Lie, formed by the information, control, and network societies.

Norway is obliged to adhere to the EU's new surveillance rules. The surveillance of all the websites you visit, the identities of all the people you telephone, text message, or email. Or conversely, the identity of everyone who calls you or sends you an email or a text message. Should I happen to receive a text message from a "suspicious" person, even if it were from a random reader of Le Monde diplomatique – my name would automatically end up on the list. Will the lists that Norway must make available to the FBI include telephone numbers, geographic details of where and when you used your mobile phone, or digital recordings of mobile phone conversations?

Are we really aware of the kind of attitude which is currently prompting such legislation? Can it be called a referendum, voted in by the majority? Similar to an instrument which we tune to the mantra "security, security"?

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