Книга We See It All: liberty and justice in the age of perpetual surveillance
What are citizens of a free country willing to tolerate in the name of public safety?
Jon Fasman journeys from the US to London — one of the most heavily surveilled cities on earth — to China and beyond, to expose the legal, political, and moral issues surrounding how the state uses surveillance technology.
Automatic licence-plate readers allow police to amass a granular record of where people go, when, and for how long. Drones give the state eyes — and possibly weapons — in the skies. Algorithms purport to predict where and when crime will occur, and how big a risk a suspect has of reoffending. Specially designed tools can crack a device’s encryption keys, rending all privacy protections useless. And facial recognition technology poses perhaps a more dire and lasting threat than any other form of surveillance.
Jon Fasman examines how these technologies help police do their jobs, and what their use means for our privacy rights and civil liberties, exploring vital questions, such as: Should we expect to be tracked and filmed whenever we leave our homes? Should the state have access to all of the data we generate? Should private companies? What might happen if all of these technologies are combined and put in the hands of a government with scant regard for its citizens’ civil liberties?
Through on-the-ground reporting and vivid storytelling, Fasman explores one of the most urgent issues of our time.
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‘[A] deeply reported and sometimes chilling look at mass surveillance technologies in the American justice system … Fasman avoids alarmism while making a strong case for greater public awareness and tighter regulations around these technologies. This illuminating account issues an essential warning about a rising threat to America’s civil liberties.’
" - Publishers Weekly"
‘A cogent critique of the age of ubiquitous surveillance … An urgent examination of police-state intrusions on the privacy of lawful and law-abiding citizens.’
" - Kirkus Reviews"
‘This lively book is a call to action.’
" - Literary Review"
‘Attempts to shake us out of our complacency … We See It All is a brutal reminder of the ‘perpetual’ surveillance powers of the police and government.’
" - TLS"
Praise for The Unpossessed City:
‘Bestseller Fasman … takes a compassionate look at the hard truths of modern-day Russia in his absorbing second novel … The bio-thriller aspect of the plot provides a loose frame for Fasman's real concerns … and, more importantly, the trials and tribulations of the new Russia itself.’
" - Publishers Weekly"
Praise for The Geographer's Library:
‘A brainy noir … [A] winningly cryptic tale … [A] cabinet of wonders written by a novelist whose surname and sensibility fit comfortably on the shelf between Umberto Eco and John Fowles.’
" - Los Angeles Times