Digital Surveillance
Digital surveillance is the monitoring of individuals’ actions, communications, and behaviors using digital technologies. In the context of public health crises, it raises significant tensions between collective safety and individual privacy rights.
Key Developments & Case Studies
- Pandemic-Era Tracking: The deployment of contact-tracing applications during the COVID-19 Pandemic exemplifies the rapid expansion of state-led digital monitoring infrastructure.
- See specific legal analysis in: Bradford - COVID-19 contact tracing apps
- This work highlights regulatory frameworks such as gdpr, hipaa, and ccpa in balancing health data utility with protection.
Regulatory & Ethical Frameworks
- Data Protection Laws: Compliance varies by jurisdiction but generally relies on principles from the OECD Privacy Principles.
- Legal Scholarship: Academic discourse (e.g., Aboy, Liddell, Bradford) focuses on the legitimacy of surveillance measures under existing privacy statutes.