ABOUT THIS EPISODE
The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, created as a response to 9/11, gathered 22 different government agencies under the banner of security. Agencies with functions as disparate as immigration enforcement, disaster response, biological warfare defense, and infrastructure protection were united under a single umbrella. More than bureaucratic reshuffling, the establishment of DHS inaugurated a new way of thinking about risk, uncertainty, and the future.
Security is an ever-moving target, one that is productive in its indeterminacy. In the 25 years since 9/11, the logic of security has been used to justify mass surveillance, wiretapping, searches of electronic devices at the border, and other incursions into civil liberties. Fear of the unknown has driven the development and adoption of data-driven, black box systems that purport to predict the future, while anxieties over “strangers at the gates” have spurred the creation of terrorist watchlists and biometric identification at every border checkpoint.
This panel will explore the technologies and forms of data collection that have been pursued in the name of national security. Panelists will discuss how the focus on national security has produced new forms of insecurity and reflect on which groups have been most affected by these developments. Drawing on examples from grassroots organizing in Southern California, panelists will also share how communities have fought against the encroachment of surveillance technology in their cities and neighborhoods.
Panelists:
- Lilly Irani, Professor of Communication & Science Studies and Faculty Director, UCSD Labor Center, UC San Diego; Community organizer, TRUST SD Coalition
- Shakeer Rahman, Attorney, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
- Nina Toft Djanegara, Fellow, UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy, UCLA School of Law and Samueli School of Engineering
- Moderator: Ameena Mirza Qazi, Attorney, Mirza Law Office and Consulting, PC
