The Surveillance State: Big Data, Freedom, and You
Overview
Confront the tough questions about who’s out there watching us online—and how we can start watching our own backs. A man shoots down a drone that is flying over his private property. A retail store uses predictive data analytics to send pregnancy-related advertising to a teenager who has not told her parents about her condition. A police officer places a GPS device on a suspected criminal’s car to follow him and build a case against him.
The news is full of such stories, in which new technologies lead to dilemmas that could not have been imagined just a few decades ago. The 21st century has seen remarkable technological advances, with many wonderful benefits. But with these advances come new questions about privacy, security, civil liberties, and more. Big Data is here, which means that government and private industries are collecting massive amounts of information about each of us—information that may be used in marketing, to help solve criminal investigations, and to promote the interests of national security.
Taught by Professor Rosenzweig, J.D., esteemed legal expert and professorial lecturer at The George Washington University School of Law, these 24 revealing lectures tackle the tough questions about surveillance and data in the 21st century. With Professor Rosenzweig’s guidance, you’ll scrutinize our system of oversight for intelligence agencies, and you’ll consider the ways in which the information that is collected impacts (or potentially impacts) our civil liberties.
Course Lessons
01: Security, Liberty, or Neither?
Start by considering the tension between surveillance and the rule of law.
Duration: 33 min
02: The Charlie Hebdo Tragedy
Review three types of surveillance—physical, electronic, and data—and see how each type works.
Duration: 29 min
03: East Germany’s Stasi State
Survey the history of East Germany’s extreme surveillance state and think about the lessons it can teach us today.
Duration: 28 min
04: Surveillance in America
Explore the measures the American government took during the Cold War to prevent a Stasi-like state.
Duration: 31 min
05: Failing to Connect the Dots on 9/11
Review the history of FISA legislation and the changes that happened after 9/11 regarding intelligence sharing.
Duration: 33 min
06: The U.S. Spy Network in Action
Find out how the U.S. intelligence community is structured and how it functions.
Duration: 31 min
07: Big Data’s Shadow
Examine the potential inherent in deep and widespread data, as well as the threat it poses to privacy and security.
Duration: 30 min
08: Some Problems with Privacy
Reflect on the nature of privacy and consider the extremes of total surveillance versus complete invisibility.
Duration: 29 min
09: Under Observation: The Panopticon Effect
Consider the psychological implications of observation on both the observed and the observer.
Duration: 30 min
10: Drones, Drones Everywhere
Review the public and private uses of drones and consider policy issues surrounding their use.
Duration: 29 min
11: Biometrics: Eyes, Fingers, Everything
Examine the different forms of biometric screening and the benefits and darker sides of this data.
Duration: 30 min
12: Hacking, Espionage, and Surveillance
Investigate the techniques by which governments infiltrate each other and ponder the ethics of these actions.
Duration: 29 min
13: Local Police on the Cyber Beat
Find out what techniques local police use to gather surveillance data and solve crimes.
Duration: 30 min
14: Geolocation: Tracking You and Your Data
Explore how geolocation data is gathered and what investigators can do with such data.
Duration: 31 min
15: Internet Surveillance
Examine how the monitoring of web searches and emails allows the government to gain insights into potential security risks.
Duration: 30 min
16: Metadata: Legal or Not
Learn about metadata and the legal issues surrounding its gathering in the years after 9/11.
Duration: 30 min
17: Technology Outruns the Law
Explore expectations of privacy regarding email, phone metadata, and smart phones in the context of constitutional law.
Duration: 31 min
18: Your Personal Data Is the Product
Step into the world of commercial data aggregation and predictive analytics, and explore the legal and ethical questions surrounding data collection.
Duration: 30 min
19: The Internet of Things
Review the benefits and challenges of smart technologies and the data they aggregate.
Duration: 29 min
20: Anonymity: Going off the Grid
Explore the benefits and challenges of anonymity for individuals and society in the context of surveillance.
Duration: 31 min
21: Code Breaking versus Code Making
Unpack the tension between privacy and national security in the context of encryption and government access.
Duration: 31 min
22: Europe’s Right to Be Forgotten
Compare the legal state of data collection in Europe and America, focusing on the “right to be forgotten” principle.
Duration: 31 min
23: National Security and the First Amendment
Trace the recent history of the news media and draw conclusions about what information should be published.
Duration: 32 min
24: The Privacy Debate Needs You
Examine the possibilities of future technologies and the decisions we need to make about privacy and security.
Duration: 35 min

