What is Surveillance Capitalism?
An economic system where personal data is systematically collected, analyzed, and sold to predict and influence human behavior for profit.
Coined by Shoshana Zuboff, surveillance capitalism describes the business model where human experience is converted into behavioral data.
How It Works
- Collect: Gather data from every interaction (searches, clicks, movements, purchases)
- Analyze: Use AI to find behavioral patterns and predict future actions
- Sell: Sell predictions and influence to advertisers and other buyers
- Shape: Modify digital environments to generate more data and more predictable behavior
Key Players
- Google (search, Android, Maps, Gmail, YouTube)
- Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)
- Amazon (purchases, Alexa, Ring)
- Data brokers (Acxiom, Oracle Data Cloud)
The Product
"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product" — but it's more accurate to say you're the raw material. The product is predictions about your behavior, sold to those who want to influence it.
Fighting Back
- Use privacy-respecting alternatives for daily tools
- Block trackers and ads
- Minimize data shared with Big Tech
- Support privacy legislation
- Pay for services instead of "paying" with your data
Related Terms
Advertising ID
A unique identifier assigned to your mobile device by the operating system, used by apps and advertisers to track your behavior across applications.
Data Broker
A company that collects personal information from various sources, aggregates it into detailed profiles, and sells it to third parties. Data brokers operate largely in the shadows, compiling information about people who often don't know they exist.
Third-Party Tracking
The practice of monitoring user behavior across multiple websites using embedded scripts, pixels, cookies, and fingerprinting techniques.
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