Luxury Surveillance: Algorithmic Power, Security, and Privacy

• In Event: POL Panel 3. Plural Policing

Abstract

Buy an electric car from Tesla and you get surveillance for free. A monitoring system, the so-called Sentry Mode function, is installed in Tesla cars, which not only record the driver's driving behavior, but also monitor everything outside the car for suspicious movements, with the aim of capturing people who damage the Tesla or who attempt burglary. As luxury surveillance takes on a dominant role in our society, it becomes increasingly important to understand how this new form of surveillance reshapes the different ways of ‘watching and being watched’ in our daily life. In this paper, we will explore two kinds of changes to our experience of public safety which the shift towards luxury surveillance is effecting. First, we theoretically analyze the increasingly influential role of tech companies in designing and deploying luxury surveillance with the aim of making society safer and more secure. Second, we report from a qualitative study of interviews with 43 Tesla users on their attitudes towards algorithmic surveillance, security and privacy. In discussing these results, we aim to provide an extensive overview of how luxury surveillance is being used for safety and security, but also in the way it forms new modes of social control.

Authors

• Marc Schuilenburg, Professor Digital Surveillance Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Yarin Eski, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam