Beyond “loss‐of‐control”: telecommunications, surveillance, drugs and terrorism

Abstract

In the US (and elsewhere), law enforcement agencies take the position that new telecommunications technologies are eroding their abilities to intercept and monitor electronic communications. They argue that they are “losing control”. Without new telecommunications surveillance powers, the argument runs, drug traffickers and terrorists will be able to operate with impunity within virtual sanctuaries. The problem with this narrative is that it functions to deflect attention from the fact that the US State has contributed significantly to some of the very problems that that have generated the calls for new surveillance powers. An alternative narrative sketched. It is argued that the escalation of the US State’s failed War on Drugs has been a key factor behind the proliferation of the recent surveillance initiatives. It is suggested that a similar dynamic may be operating in the US State’s New War on Terrorism.

Citation

Shields, P. (2002), "Beyond “loss‐of‐control”: telecommunications, surveillance, drugs and terrorism", info, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 9-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636690210435758