Life in the urban panopticon

Description

In this session, we look at urban surveillance and data collection as a two-way road: something that has the capacity of making our cities more open or more closed.

There are more and more cameras in our cities, and information about our everyday choices is collected in an increasing number of public and private databases. We are told that urban surveillance and data collection are an inevitable part of urban life, required for both safety and convenience. Our awareness of being watched must affect our behaviour, but how? Is surveillance really making our urban spaces safer?At the same time the digital technologies that make the urban panopticon possible can be used by citizens to change the urban landscape into something more participative and open. People have used cameras, open mapping tools and location tracking services to record electoral fraud, defuse violence in protests, coordinate disaster relief and expose abuses of authority.

The speakers of this session will look at the social consequences of cameras, location data and other kinds of data collection being used for increased urban control and hierarchy; and the methods of using the same tools for dismantling that control.

Session Host

Hanna Nikkanen, Finland, @hannanik, hanna.nikkanen@iki.fi

Contributors

Niklas Vainio (chair), Finland, @nvainio

Bios

Niklas Vainio is a philosopher, lawyer and digital rights activist whose on-going Ph.D.  research concerns protection of privacy in EU counter-terrorism  activities. Vainio holds a M.Sc. in philosophy  from University of Tampere and a LL.M. from University of Turku. His  previous research interests include philosophical and sociological  aspects of free and open source software communities and Wikipedia.

Mushon Zer-Aviv is a designer, an educator  and a media activist based in NY & Tel Aviv. His work involves media  in public space and public space in media. He explores the borders of   collaborative models as they are redrawn through politics, design and  networks. Mushon is the co-founder of YouAreNotHere.org, a tour of Gaza  through the streets of Tel Aviv; Kriegspiel – a computer game version of  the Situationist Game of War; and multiple government transparency and  civic participation initiatives with the Public Knowledge Workshop. He  teaches digital media as a faculty member of Shenkar School of  Engineering and Design.

Jens Kremer is a Doctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Law in Helsinki. His current research focuses on modern surveillance technology and human rights. He is currently working on a doctoral thesis titled: “Legal Aspects of Security and Surveillance Technologies: Safeguards in a World governed by (In)Security?” He is a member of the Centre of Excellence in Foundations of European Law and Polity Research at the University of Helsinki as well as the Graduate School Law in a Changing World. He is specialized in human rights law, privacy, data protection as well as security and security theories. Kremer holds a Master in International Law (LL.M.) from the University of Helsinki and a Master in Political Science, Sociology and Law from the University of Würzburg. In the past, he worked for Amnesty International in Germany as well as the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationships with the United Nations (C.O.N.G.O).

Teemu Hokkanen works for the  Eastern Uusimaa police department, where his main work includes digital  evidence and IT-crimes. He has given many lectures about the  surprisingly little known practical aspects of the criminal  investigations from various viewpoints, including the information  gathering using coercive measures. On his spare time he promotes equal  rights and tries to understand all the regulations concerning  telecommunications from the dual viewpoints of control and free speech.

Reijo  Aarnio has been the Data Protection Ombudsman of Finland since 1997. The office of the ombudsman is an independent authority operating  in connection with the Ministry of Justice, and the ombudsman’s role is to provide citizens with advice on all issues related to the processing  of personal data. Aarnio is a Ph.D. (h.c.) at the University of Lapland.

Mikko Nyman is a 35-year-old train enthusiast. Nyman founded VR Leaks, Finland’s first leak site, in December 2011. Leaked documents from within VR, the state-owned railway company, exposed a surveillance operation against suspected leakers and graffiti artists, as well as unauthorized data collection.

Hanna Nikkanen is a Helsinki-based freelance journalist who is currently covering issues concerning digital freedom, transparency and corporate ethics. Recently her investigative work on telecom giants’ involvement in the suppression of Iran’s 2009 uprising  led to Nokia Siemens Networks issuing a public apology and the European  Parliament calling for an investigation into the intelligence business.  Her third book, Verkko ja vapaus (“The Web Rules”, 2012) studies the global political struggle for the control of the Internet.

Details

Location: INSPIRE meeting room

Date & Time: Thu 20, 18:00-19:30

Target Group: Anyone interested in the topic

Topic Stream: Open Cities

Session Etherpad page: https://varjo-ict.kirjoitusalusta.fi/7