We See It All

Liberty and Justice in an Age of Perpetual Surveillance

By: Jon Fasman

Narrated by: Jason Culp

This investigation into the legal, political, and moral issues surrounding how the police and justice system use surveillance technology asks the question: what are citizens of a free country willing to tolerate in the name of public safety?

The police now have unparalleled power at their fingertips: surveillance technology. Seamless, persistent, even permanent surveillance is available - sometimes already deployed, sometimes waiting for the right excuse. Automatic license-plate readers allow police to amass a granular record of where people go, when, and for how long. Drones give police eyes - and possibly weapons - in the skies. Facial recognition poses perhaps the most dire and lasting threat than any other technology. Algorithms purport to predict where and when crime will occur, and how big a risk a suspect has of re-offending. Tools can crack a device's encryption keys, rending all privacy protections useless.

Embedding himself with both police and community activists in locales around the country - ranging from Newark, NJ and Baltimore, MD, to Los Angeles and Oakland, CA - Jon Fasman looks at how these technologies help police do their jobs, and what their use means for our privacy rights and civil liberties. We want safe streets and fewer criminals, but we also want to protect our privacy rights and civil liberties. Fasman provides a framing for thinking through through these issues, exploring questions like: should we expect to be tracked and filmed whenever we leave our homes? Should the state have access to all of the data we generate? Should private companies? What might happen if all of these technologies are combined and put in the hands of a government with scant regard for its citizens' civil liberties?

Through on-the ground reporting and vivid story-telling, Fasman explores the moral, legal, and political questions these surveillance tools and techniques pose.

©2021 Jon Fasman (P)2021 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

"A deeply reported and sometimes chilling look at mass surveillance technologies in the American justice system.... This illuminating account issues an essential warning about the rising threat to America's civil liberties." (Publishers Weekly)

"An urgent examination of police-state intrusions on the privacy of lawful and law-abiding citizens." (Kirkus Reviews)

bias but good story

while the reader is liberal in his views, I learned from his book and his concerns. I am thankful for the knowledge. approach with open mind.

Amazing Economist Writer vs Fast Tech

Jon Fasman is a great writer but also has a great voice. If you’ve heard his regular features on podcasts from The Economist, his absence narrating his book is perpetually odd. Perhaps his schedule didn’t allow it? Jason Culp does a fine job but it’s like watching an actor substitute for another in the same role.

While thought provoking, the subject matter itself doesn’t age well, particularly in light of Oakland “re-funding” the police (not that I disagree). Even tech in China is only partially covered. Relatively recent articles in The Economist opined on community watchers in the country’s east watching banks of cameras for minor infractions (e.g. littering). It’s not here, sadly. This audiobook is good but is only held from great in narration and the exceptionally quick development of technology against the lethargic pace of publishing.