Introduction to Surveillance

Surveillance isn’t new, but it is no longer the same.

Surveillance is often imagined as something high-tech and sophisticated, but in reality, it has existed for centuries. Kings relied on spies, businesses depended on informants, and neighbours watched one another through windows and binoculars. What has fundamentally changed is not the existence of surveillance, but its scale, speed, and subtlety.

Modern surveillance no longer depends on shadowy operatives or visible monitoring. It is embedded into the devices we carry, the platforms we use, and the cities we inhabit. It operates continuously, quietly, and often invisibly.

This article is the first in a series that explores how surveillance has evolved and what this evolution means for privacy in modern life.

To address the growing gap between the rapidly evolving technology, innovation and traditional regulatory process, the Financial Conduct Authority has developed a regulatory sandbox.
The UK’s regulatory sandbox received more than 700 application in the initial years and accepted around 40% from them. Many organizations gained approvals and started expanding globally. This engagement of collaboration was a learning also for FCA to modify their regulatory policies to cater the evolving technologies and innovation.

Surveillance has evolved from a manual and selective activity into a technologically advanced, ubiquitous, and automated system.

• Spies and informants in kingdoms and during wars
• Telephone tapping and mail interception
• Physical surveillance and neighbourhood patrols

• Closed-circuit television (CCTV)
• Bugging devices in phones or physical spaces
• Tactical surveillance used in espionage and law enforcement

• Internet surveillance, including email correspondence and browsing activity
• Mobile device tracking
• Collection of metadata by internet service providers and telecom operators

• Smart devices continuously collecting data
• AI-powered facial recognition and voice analysis
• Social media monitoring and algorithmic profiling
• Increasing collaboration between public and private entities in surveillance activities

The transition from digital surveillance to ubiquitous surveillance was not gradual; it was exponential. Surveillance is no longer an exception. It is the default.

Surveillance takes different forms depending on who conducts it and for what purpose.

• Primarily used for national security and law enforcement.
• Examples include CCTV in public spaces and facial recognition systems in airports.

• Conducted for commercial and operational purposes.
• Examples include tracking online behaviour for targeted advertising and collecting voice data through smart speakers.

• The monitoring of one’s own data, often encouraged or designed into digital products.
• Examples include fitness trackers, location sharing, and photo tagging on social media platforms.

• Peer-to-peer or community-based monitoring, sometimes social and sometimes intrusive.
• Examples include CCTV monitoring within apartment complexes.

Modern surveillance is no longer limited to observation. It now involves analysis, prediction, and influence.

Four major shifts define this transformation:

Then: Surveillance focused on specific individuals for limited periods.
Now: Surveillance is ambient, continuous, and applied to everyone.

Then: Human operators observed and recorded activities.
Now: Algorithms analyze massive volumes of data in real time.

Then: Cameras and monitoring equipment were visible and obvious.
Now: Data is collected silently through applications, sensors, and connected devices.

Then: Surveillance was reactive and suspicion-driven.
Now: Surveillance is pre-emptive, treating every individual as a potential data point.

Modern surveillance has blurred the line between security, convenience, and control. This is why it demands closer scrutiny.

• Every click, movement, and search can be tracked and analysed
• Privacy is often exchanged for convenience, frequently without full awareness

• Governments and corporations accumulate power through large-scale data collection
• Individuals often lack visibility into what data is collected and how it is used

• Legal and regulatory frameworks consistently lag behind surveillance technologies
• Consent is frequently obtained without meaningful understanding or control

• Continuous monitoring is becoming normalised
• Surveillance is embedded into homes, workplaces, cities, and daily routines
• Surveillance is now part of everyday life and often goes unnoticed.

The goal of this series is not to create fear, but to build understanding.

Surveillance no longer simply watches. It learns, predicts, and influences behaviour. Understanding how these systems operate is the first step toward making informed choices and meaningful decisions in a data-driven world.

In the articles that follow, this series will explore how surveillance intersects with privacy, power, consent, regulation and why these conversations matter more than ever.