Uberveillance

Uberveillance, also überveillance, is an above and beyond, an exaggerated, an almost omnipresent 24/7 electronic surveillance. It is a surveillance that is not only “always on” but “always with you” (it is ubiquitous) because the technology that facilitates it, in its ultimate implementation, is embedded within the human body. The problem with this kind of bodily invasive surveillance is that omnipresence in the ‘physical’ world will not always equate with omniscience, hence the real concern for misinformation, misinterpretation, and information manipulation (Figure 1). Uberveillance is an emerging concept, in the full sense of both its application and power it is not yet entirely arrived (Michael & Michael, 2006; Michael, McNamee, Michael & Tootell, 2006; M.G. Michael, 2007; M.G. Michael & K. Michael, 2009; K. Michael & M.G. Michael, 2009). For some time Roger Clarke’s (1988, p. 498) dataveillance has been prevalent: the “systematic use of personal data systems in the investigation or monitoring of the actions of one or more persons”. Almost twenty years on, technology has developed so much and the national security context has altered so greatly (Snow, 2005), that there was a pressing need to formulate a new term to convey both this present reality, and the Realpolitik (policy primarily based on power) of our times (Michael & Michael, 2007). It should be said, however, that if it had not been for dataveillance, uberveillance could not be. And for that matter, it must be emphasized that dataveillance will always be- it will provide the scorecard for the engine being used to fulfill uberveillance. The word itself gained entry into the Macquarie Dictionary in 2008 and the noun is defined as: “an omnipresent electronic surveillance facilitated by technology that makes it possible to embed surveillance devices in the human body” (Macmillan, 2009; McIlwain, 2009).