Normalizing surveillance in daily life

September 15, 2025

Surveillance technology has evolved dramatically from the era of East Germany's Stasi to today's digital landscape, where monitoring is often framed as protection or care. Modern surveillance capabilities dwarf historical precedents, with the NSA able to store nearly a billion times more data than the Stasi once collected. This surveillance expansion affects numerous sectors including education, where "ed-tech" tools monitor students; workplaces, where employee surveillance doubled between 2020-2022; and even automobiles, with 84% of car brands selling personal data to brokers.

Who is affected

Students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds (Black, Indigenous, Latine/x, LGBTQ+, undocumented, low-income, and students with disabilities)
Workers in various sectors, including office workers and warehouse employees
Car owners and drivers whose data is collected and potentially shared
German citizens under surveillance through Palantir software
General populations whose data is collected through various digital systems
Traditionally marginalized groups who face higher risks from surveillance

What action is being taken

Employers are actively monitoring employees through internet tracking, fingerprint scanners, eye movement tracking, and other methods
Schools are implementing surveillance technologies to monitor students' activities, social media, and behaviors
Car manufacturers are collecting and selling personal data from vehicles to data brokers
German states are using Palantir software for population surveillance
Tech companies are marketing surveillance products under the guise of care and protection
Some students and parents are pushing back against surveillance technologies in schools

Why it matters

The scale of modern surveillance vastly exceeds historical precedents, with unprecedented access to personal data
Surveillance disproportionately impacts already marginalized communities
Monitoring systems normalize constant surveillance from childhood through adulthood
The framing of surveillance as "care" or "protection" masks its potential harms
Privacy erosion occurs by design rather than by default
The power imbalance between individuals and those collecting data continues to grow
Data collected could be repurposed for different uses under changing political circumstances

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: Global Voices