SURVEILLANCE AS LAW

Since 9/11, many governments have amended their laws to make it easier for state actors to watch us for security (and efficiency) purposes. At the same time, surveillance technology developments have made it easier and less costly for the private sector and government to compile detailed profiles about us. When government surveillance undermines important democratic practices like privacy, the surveillance itself operates independently as a kind of law that shapes individual and social behaviour in ways that were not intended by the adopters of a security initiative. Traditional legal tools, such as federal or sub-federal laws that govern the informationcollection practices of government agencies, provide an insufficient safeguard against these worries. To re-establish an individual's actual and perceived control over personal information, governments need to develop effective institutions (with audit and investigatory powers) as well as new laws and policies to govern the conception, design, implementation and ongoing evaluation of new security initiatives. A 2010 reform effort by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada serves as an example of this approach.