🕵️ Privacy in Authoritarian Times

Have you ever stopped to think about how your privacy could be used against you?

I just read a fascinating article¹ by Professor Daniel Solove (a little over 60 pages) about how we are living in an era of mass surveillance – not just by authoritarian governments but also by corporations that profit from our data. The topic caught my attention because it touches on something I see growing every day: the fusion of state surveillance and so-called "surveillance capitalism." What once seemed like something out of a movie—just like I mentioned 1984 by George Orwell in another post—is now the reality for anyone connected to the internet.

The logic presented in the article is simple: companies collect everything about us—location, shopping habits, personal preferences—and this data is readily available for governments that want to use it to monitor, persecute, or control.

I'm not referring to any specific government or political party, but rather to the general concept of the technical feasibility and political viability of this practice.

The article provides concrete examples, such as the use of data to criminalize minorities, restrict rights, or even encourage "digital vigilantes" to attack political and social opponents. During the Cold War, informants were needed to report on their neighbors—today, all it takes is a database.

"Authoritarian power is greatly enhanced in today’s era of pervasive surveillance and relentless data collection. We are living in the age of ‘surveillance capitalism.’ There are vast digital dossiers about every person assembled by thousands of corporations and readily available for the government to access."

Solove argues that state and corporate surveillance cannot be separated. Regulating only the government while ignoring the power of Big Tech would be a mistake, and it’s hard to disagree. So, what does he propose? Urgent reforms in privacy laws to eliminate loopholes that allow this uncontrolled exchange of information. And more: promoting technologies that protect our privacy by design, limiting data collection from the start—what we already know as privacy by design.

“To adequately regulate government surveillance, it is essential to also regulate surveillance capitalism. Government surveillance and surveillance capitalism are two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to protect privacy from authoritarianism without addressing consumer privacy."

Who is willing to take on this challenge? Is there enough political will to do so? In an increasingly polarized world, where both governments and corporations benefit from large-scale data collection, resistance must come from society, public pressure, and regulations that actually work. What worries me is: have we already arrived too late to stop this scenario? Or is there still hope of regaining control over our privacy before it becomes just a distant memory?

Here’s an image shared by Professor Daniel Solove himself on his blog (https://www.danielsolove.com), along with the original article link below. In this post, I’m simply sharing my usual react to relevant content I come across on this topic, but there’s nothing better than reading straight from the source.

1. Solove, Daniel J., Privacy in Authoritarian Times: Surveillance Capitalism and Government Surveillance (January 19, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5103271