“Thank God We’re All Wearing Masks”: State Surveillance and Protests

Meme I created to express how I feel when ANYONE takes my photo without me knowing. [it’s an image of Bobby Hill from King of the Hill saying “That’s my face, I don’t know you”]

We all sign privacy agreements. We all speed scroll through terms and conditions to download iOS 14. We all know the government stores our data, including our physical data. There are many examples of it, especially facial recognition. Recently, that government camera has been pointed at activists/activism, especially when it comes to protesting or “rioting” against police brutality. For example, during the recent Minneapolis protests against the murder of George Floyd, VICE reported that surveillance drones were flying over the city, collecting data to be used for “situational awareness”. There was a similar occurrences in Baltimore during the Freddie Gray protests. The government and its agents have made quick use of the physical data they gather, using everything from our location to our social media to now literal captures of our faces and bodies.

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