Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
How is digitalisation being used by state systems of repression and control? Who is most impacted? What protections exist in liberal democratic regimes to protect civil liberties and what are their limitations? What examples exist of successful resistance against state digital surveillance?
Masterclass with:
- Ben Hayes, TNI Associate, director of AWO, a ‘data rights agency’ and long-time researcher on international security, counterterrorism, surveillance, human rights, civil liberties and civic space
- Marwa Fatafta, researcher at Access Now and activist on the digital occupation in Palestine
- Petra Molnar, lawyer and anthropologist, co-creator of the Migration and Technology Monitor and author of ‘The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in The Age of Artificial Intelligence’ (The New Press 2024).
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Introduction of Course Partners
01:08 Introducing the Course Organizers: Nick Buxton, Sofia Scasserra, Pia Garavaglia, Jess Graham
01:27 Introduction to the Course Program
02:12 Special thanks to Chris Jones from Statewatch, moderator for this session
04:00 Police and digitalisation
06:11 What data systems do you interact with?
06:40 What data of yourself do you share?
07:55 Introduction of Experts: Ben Hayes, Marwa Fatafta, Petra Molnar
09:23 Sleepwalking into a surveillance society
14:00 Surveillance does not affect everyone equally
14:50 Tools of war are repurposed as tools of surveillance
23:00 Surveillance and migration
25:30 US-Mexico border
26:20 Surveillance infrastructure of Israel
27:05 Deadly impact of surveillance on real people
28:07 Borders are a social construct
28:52 People losing lives because of border surveillance
30:09 Refugee camps as open-air prisons
31:17 Question in priorities of AI development
34:24 How can we do things differently?
35:50 Genocide in Gaza facilitated by digital tools
37:10 Colonialist tradition of ruling by records
41:00 Surveillance technologies first tested on civilians
42:40 Israel has the highest surveillance industry per capita in the world
44:00 Migration and counter terrorism - the biggest excuses for Europe to apply surveillance tech
46:00 AI is being utilized by Israel in Palestine
48:30 What happens in Palestine does not stay in Palestine
53:15 Struggles of social movements for environmental justice with increased usage of surveillance tech
57:00 Tech systems for good can easily be repurposed for the worst
01:02:00 Data is a new oil and your body becomes the border
01:05:05 Gathering biometrics as a part of surveillance mechanism
01:06:00 Borders do not work, the poorest people continue to come
01:09:09 We need red lines and new laws to control surveillance technologies
01:13:00 Surveillance tech should be banned on a global level
01:15:30 Resistance to surveillance tech brings hope
01:26:25 Wrap-Up
How is digitalisation being used by state systems of repression and control? Who is most impacted? What protections exist in liberal democratic regimes to protect civil liberties and what are their limitations? What examples exist of successful resistance against state digital surveillance?
Masterclass with:
- Ben Hayes, TNI Associate, director of AWO, a ‘data rights agency’ and long-time researcher on international security, counterterrorism, surveillance, human rights, civil liberties and civic space
- Marwa Fatafta, researcher at Access Now and activist on the digital occupation in Palestine
- Petra Molnar, lawyer and anthropologist, co-creator of the Migration and Technology Monitor and author of ‘The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in The Age of Artificial Intelligence’ (The New Press 2024).
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Introduction of Course Partners
01:08 Introducing the Course Organizers: Nick Buxton, Sofia Scasserra, Pia Garavaglia, Jess Graham
01:27 Introduction to the Course Program
02:12 Special thanks to Chris Jones from Statewatch, moderator for this session
04:00 Police and digitalisation
06:11 What data systems do you interact with?
06:40 What data of yourself do you share?
07:55 Introduction of Experts: Ben Hayes, Marwa Fatafta, Petra Molnar
09:23 Sleepwalking into a surveillance society
14:00 Surveillance does not affect everyone equally
14:50 Tools of war are repurposed as tools of surveillance
23:00 Surveillance and migration
25:30 US-Mexico border
26:20 Surveillance infrastructure of Israel
27:05 Deadly impact of surveillance on real people
28:07 Borders are a social construct
28:52 People losing lives because of border surveillance
30:09 Refugee camps as open-air prisons
31:17 Question in priorities of AI development
34:24 How can we do things differently?
35:50 Genocide in Gaza facilitated by digital tools
37:10 Colonialist tradition of ruling by records
41:00 Surveillance technologies first tested on civilians
42:40 Israel has the highest surveillance industry per capita in the world
44:00 Migration and counter terrorism - the biggest excuses for Europe to apply surveillance tech
46:00 AI is being utilized by Israel in Palestine
48:30 What happens in Palestine does not stay in Palestine
53:15 Struggles of social movements for environmental justice with increased usage of surveillance tech
57:00 Tech systems for good can easily be repurposed for the worst
01:02:00 Data is a new oil and your body becomes the border
01:05:05 Gathering biometrics as a part of surveillance mechanism
01:06:00 Borders do not work, the poorest people continue to come
01:09:09 We need red lines and new laws to control surveillance technologies
01:13:00 Surveillance tech should be banned on a global level
01:15:30 Resistance to surveillance tech brings hope
01:26:25 Wrap-Up
