Who’s watching the watchers?
As reference for Amy Balkin’s neon project, I (heart) Data Mining (2012), currently on view in the storefront windows of Kadist San Francisco:
A New York Times Op-Ed by Shane Harris provides an overview on data surveillance: its contested history, its political invisibility and the shifting tides of public opinion about it. This from Harris: “The N.S.A. sorely needs such restrictions now. Under current law, it isn’t allowed to monitor the communications of an American citizen or permanent resident without a court order. But it can collect data if one party to a communication is believed to be outside the United States.” Harris notes later, “Many Americans seem willing to give up their digital privacy if it means the government has a better chance of catching terrorists.”
