The Digital Panopticon Foucault and Internet Privacy...

The Digital Panopticon: Foucault and Internet Privacy In 1977, Michel Foucault wrote in Discipline and Punish about the disciplinary mechanisms of constant and invisible surveillance in part through an analysis of Jeremy Benthams panopticon. The panopticon was envisioned as a circular prison, in the centre of which resided a guard tower. Along the circumference, individuals resided in cells that were visible to the guard tower but invisible to each other. Importantly, this guard tower was backlit, and therefore prisoners were unable to tell for certain whether they were being watched or not at any given moment. Bentham championed the merits of the panopticon, conceiving it as a grand tool of social progress wherein distractions†¦show more content†¦He writes that the purpose of architectural design shifts in the 18th century from a physicality to be seen into a physicality to facilitate the function of seeing, as demonstrated in the classroom, the hospital, the prison, the insane asylum and the military barracks. As subjects begin to consider themselves perpetually watched, they align their behaviour with the expectations of the (real or imagined) observers. He writes, it is the fact of being constantly seen, of being able always to be seen, that maintains the disciplined individual in his subjection.†2 For Foucault, to perceive that one is seen is to be controlled, and to be controlled is to be trained. This architectural metaphor does not go unrecognized by the modern panopticon’s most prolific whistleblower, Edward Snowden. In an interview with Glenn Greenwald in Hong Kong on June 6 2013, he says of the future of surveillance institutions, â€Å"its gonna get worse with the next generation and the next generation who extend the capabilities of this sort of architecture of oppression† (emphasis added).3 For Snowden, as for Foucault, the architecture of a disciplinary mechanism, whether restricted to physically enclosed places like prisons or spread out in a worldwide web of digital interconnectivities, inheres oppressive observation. Humans generally behave differently under conditions of anonymity and solitude versus publicity and surveillanceÍ ¾ privacy is a condition of life whichShow MoreRelatedMichel Foucault s Theory Of Discipline And Punishment1225 Words   |  5 PagesMichel Foucault states in Discipline and Punishment that â€Å"the Panopticon is a marvelous machine which, whatever use one may wish to put it to, produces homogeneous effects of power† (Foucault 188). Examining the evolution, physical characteristics, and psychological e ffects of the Panopticon allows one to understand the mechanism by which the Panopticon produces power. Most inventions develop through an evolutionary process while attempting to improve a situation or solve a problem. Often, aRead MoreComputer Networking is Revolutionizing Our Society1956 Words   |  8 PagesThe Internet, a combination of technology, communication, and media, is a developing and unique medium in its infancy. Technology and tools of communication are still in the process of development as technology continues to advance. As a site of cultural, political, and ideological discussion, it has unquestionably contributed to a culture and lifestyle dependent on technology. The World Wide Web has reconfigured people’s perception of the world, allowing access to an extensive amount of informationRead MoreOrganizational Theory And Understanding Of Modern Management Practices1929 Words   |  8 Pagesthe most perfect view of every cell. (Bentham, 1798:195). This is how Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, described the Panopticon, an institutional building designe d to make the people surveilled unable to know when they were observed. Years later, as forms of power changed and transformed throughout time, the Panopticon becomes the perfect analogy for Michel Foucault to explain the advent of a new form of dominance: Disciplinary power. This form of power, strictly related to Foucault’s theoryRead More Privacy - Its Time to Control the Use of Electronic Surveillance1484 Words   |  6 Pagesjust about anyone in the world? Well, chances are that you and me and many others are currently, or have been, victims of this infringement on privacy. With todays ever growing technology, there is little one can do to ensure privacy in normal, every day life. Even though many benefits have come with this increased technology, the inherent loss of privacy scares many. In most cases, the use of such technology is taken too far, and if continued use of these technologies is to be permitted, thenRead MorePrivacy s Perception Of Privacy1161 Words   |  5 Pagesmesses with people’s perceptions of their privacy. Naturally, when you are constantly being watched by someone or something, you perceive a loss of privacy. â€Å"People are concerned about privacy; they are afraid that the digital systems they use on an everyday basis may bring unwanted effects into their lives.† (Lahlou, 2008, p. 300) In his article, Lahlou presents an alternate way of viewing privacy that better SOMETHING HERE Lahlou points out that â€Å"Privacy was initially understood as ‘the right to