The next generation of surveillance is already here and will redefine what we mean by public space

Nowhere to hide (Image: Digital Globe/Getty)

DURING the cold war, it was often claimed that spy satellites could read the headline of a newspaper left on a park bench in Moscow or Washington DC. They couldn’t: spatial resolution was nowhere near good enough. Nonetheless, the eyes in the sky were watching.

Those eyes now see further and more clearly than ever before – though they probably still can’t read headlines. Nor are they just the preserve of intelligence services. Increasingly, private operators are using observation satellites and drones to obtain high-resolution images and sell them to anyone who is interested.

There has been remarkably little public debate about this development, though it is a hot issue in legal circles. Images taken from far above are increasingly being presented as evidence in court, and the world’s first space detective agency has recently been established (see “World’s first space detective agency launched“).


Does this represent a step change in public surveillance? Absolutely. It is easy to envisage a future in which everything we do outdoors – and perhaps indoors, given thermal imaging – can be watched, recorded and potentially used as evidence. After all, in some drone-patrolled parts of the world, that is already the case.

Many people will be fine with that. Some countries – notably the UK, the world’s most watched society – have been relaxed about the remorseless growth of CCTV. The hoary old pro-surveillance mantra: “if you have nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about” will be trotted out again.

Such complacency is unwise. Satellites and drones threaten civil rights, notably freedom of movement, in a way that fixed CCTV cameras do not. That may prompt a backlash: acceptance is a function of who is likely to get caught. Brits, for example, are far less fond of road speed cameras.

Public spaces have generally been open for photography; aerial imagery is everywhere. But the next wave of imaging will redefine what we consider public space. Perhaps you’ll soon have to accept that someone’s always going to be reading over your shoulder.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Nowhere to hide”