By Ksenia Vlasova, Y11
Ever think about what COVID-19 will change in terms of government surveillance? Well, you might want to check the news a bit more often.
La Quadrature du Net is a law association fighting for “fundamental freedoms in the digital world.” They are a French organisation, and although the majority of their work is done there, they are widely recognised for their collective efforts in the name of cyber security.
Less than a month ago, La Quadrature du Net won a court case against the Conseil General (the legislative organ of the French legal system), thereby banning the use of drones for government surveillance. Albeit the police department’s promises to use drones solely to control the population during the COVID-19 crisis, it quickly became evident that they would become a part of the French peoples’ day to day life.
You might be asking yourself how drone surveillance even become a thing? Let me tell you. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, were first used in the military sector; however, they are quickly migrating towards the commercial and public sectors today. There are, of course, “benefits” to drone surveillance, advocated by the drone companies, such as ensuring safety in mining or construction areas, traffic control, perimeter control, and many others. Personally, I think these “benefits” seem small in comparison to the degree of privacy violations that drone surveillance would allow. Facial and license plate recognition are two of the many technological abilities of a drone, which means that the government could potentially watch sensitive activities and catalog individuals in mere minutes or even seconds. The worst thing is, most countries have already passed drone surveillance laws, making La Quadrature du Net’s victory so significant.
The work that La Quadrature du Net are doing and have done can be found on their website, www.laquadrature.net, with articles ranging from drone surveillance to copyright infringement. We live in a society where almost everyone is constantly watched and privacy is almost a scam, so the least we can do is to educate ourselves and support those who fight for it.
