How surveillance tech erodes your privacy | Jen Golbeck

0:03You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Most of us have heard the warnings about digital privacy. Read the terms of service, watch what you share, be careful what you click. But AI ethicist Jen Golbeck thinks the problem runs a lot deeper. On the web, every click, every search, every fraction of a second, our eyes linger on a piece of content is recorded. And we're followed across the web into our patient portals at our doctor's office and into forums we thought were private. And what we found is that if technology makes something possible and that something is profitable, companies will do it pretty much regardless of the ethics.

0:47Jen, who has spent years mapping the ways governments and corporations extract our data, profit from it, and use it to consolidate power, has a name for this. Data colonialism. In her talk, she makes the case that it isn't just a tech problem or a privacy problem. It's a threat to democracy itself. Data colonialism is fundamentally incompatible with democracy because democracy requires that power be held in the hands of the people and that we're governed with our consent. But under this system, regardless of how our data is used, the surveillance itself undermines core principles of democracy so foundational that we wrote them into the Bill of Rights.

1:27But she's here to do more than sound the alarm. She has a plan, and it starts closer to home than you might think. It's coming up right after a short break.

1:42This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card puts the power of titanium in the palm of your hand. What does that mean? It means the power to earn unlimited daily cash back on your purchases every day. It means a materially different credit card accepted anywhere in the world. MasterCard is accepted. Ditch the plastic. Upgrade to titanium. Apply in the Wallet app on iPhone today. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch, Terms and more at AppleCard.com. This episode is sponsored by Kohler Smart Toilets. The objects we interact with most are often the ones we notice least.

2:20But what if the most overlooked space in your home could be the most considered? Kohler Smart Toilet challenges that assumption. Their Veil Smart Toilet is a sculptural silhouette that isn't just intentional, it's a philosophy. That design changes everything. The Kohler Veil Smart Toilet is sleek with a rounded shape that's more like architecture than just plumbing. And it goes beyond looks. the touchscreen controls and customizable cleansing features offer a level of comfort and cleanliness that exceeds expectations. It's all about elevating those ordinary daily rituals into something extraordinary through thoughtful design.

2:53Kohler has been pushing these boundaries for over 150 years, mastering that balance of stunning form and high-performance function. That's a long time to get it right, and it shows in every detail. Experience the difference of Kohler Smart Toilets. Find out more at Kohler.com. This episode is brought to you by Dell. Back to school starts now. Get long-lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop, powered by Series 3 Intel Core so you can work from anywhere. Now starting at$699 with exclusive student pricing starting at$599. And it's lightweight, portable, and packed with enough processing power to make multitasking a breeze.

3:32So say goodbye to distractions and hello to more free time because you finished your work faster. Complete your setup with savings on select monitors and more must-have electronics and accessories. Limited time deals and free shipping on PCs and more await you at dell.com slash deals. That's dell.com slash deals.

3:59And now, our TED Talk of the day. There are over 100 ,000 automated license plate reading cameras in this country. And when you drive past one, they don't just record your license plate, though they do that too. They record the make and model of your car, the color, distinguishing marks like dents and scratches, and even your bumper stickers. So if you were to take your license plate off, they still know that car belongs to you. And when you drive past a camera, the location and the time is recorded in the list of places they know you've been. So if you were to become the victim of a stalker who works in law enforcement, could they use that network to monitor your movements?

4:41They can, and they have. If there is a demonstration in your town for gun rights or civil rights, and the government takes an interest, could they use this network to get a list of everyone who drove to or even who drove past that protest? They can, and they have. And if you live in a state where abortion is illegal and you self-administer one and your family disapproves. After you've fled from them and left the state, can they go to law enforcement and have your movements around the country tracked? They can and they have. It's one of the thousands of ways that all of our movements are monitored every day.

5:20Our cars are recording our acceleration in speed and braking, sharing that with data brokers who sell access to car insurance companies who use it to change our rates. Our phones monitor our interactions, not just with apps, though they do that too, but our movements through physical space, every business we enter, and the identities of people who are nearby. On the web, every click, every search, every fraction of a second our eyes linger on a piece of content is recorded, and we're followed across the web into our patient portals at our doctor's office and into forums we thought were private.

5:59And what we found is that if technology makes something possible and that something is profitable, companies will do it pretty much regardless of the ethics. And this kind of surveillance pricing is in use on the web for everything from airline tickets to clothes, but now it's following us offline and meeting us in stores. Companies make billions of dollars a year using data from us that was collected without our permission and that they employ without our consent. But these systems don't exist just for commerce. They exist to build detailed dossiers of our thoughts, habits, and actions that can be used to manipulate our behavior or weaponized against us.

6:43Data that law enforcement would require a warrant to collect if they did it directly, they now can just go buy for a few dollars from private companies with no court order and no probable cause. The surveillance allows them to circumvent the protections that we have written into law. And I don't know about you, but if this is supposed to be the land of the free, it suddenly doesn't feel like it. We have a name for this kind of system. When the government and corporations go into a place and engage in extraction, taking away private property, resources, land, value, and labor from people, concentrating it for themselves, and then using it to keep that system in place, we call it colonialism.

7:27In America's days as a British colony may be long over, but we have slid into a new form of colonialism, not at the hands of foreign powers and plantation owners and trading companies, but at the hands of tech companies and government agencies. And this is called data colonialism. The idea of data colonialism describes when governments and corporations extract data from people and use it to generate profits and exert control. And it's a system that we can see in place and in operation every day. For example, Airlines Reporting Corporation is a data broker owned by the major airlines in the U.S., and they sell our flight records to the government, including to Customs and Border Protection.

8:12Clearview AI has built facial recognition technology using images taken from social media and the web without permission, and they sell that facial recognition to immigration officials, including ICE. Cambridge Analytica built detailed psychological insights on millions of Americans using stolen social media data, and they sold that to politicians who were running for office, who turned around and used it to micro-target us with Facebook ads designed to manipulate our vote. And these companies take their profits and use them to lobby those same politicians to make sure they enact policies that keep this system in place.

8:55Data colonialism is fundamentally incompatible with democracy because democracy requires that power be held in the hands of the people and that we're governed with our consent. But under this system, regardless of how our data is used, the surveillance itself undermines core principles of democracy so foundational that we wrote them into the Bill of Rights. Freedom of speech, which is chilled under profiling in the destruction of anonymity. Freedom of association, which is eroded under the surveillance of our interactions and communications and relationships. relationships, the right-to-do process, which disappears in the darkness of opaque algorithms that make decisions about us with our extracted data, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure that can't exist when our now digital lives are constantly monitored and data mined and monetized.

9:50But the system is so huge that it can feel powerless to stand in the face of it. But we shouldn't feel powerless, and in fact, for all the division in our country right now, this is an issue that can unite us, because data colonialism violates values that are core to liberals and conservatives on the left and the right. It diminishes the meaning of limited government, of personal responsibility, of private property. It weakens freedom and equality and civil rights and the value of consent. And the wild power that it concentrates in the hands of corporations and government agencies diminishes the power of the people, which is where it needs to reside for democracy to thrive.

10:36And it is far past time for us to revolt against that. But how do you do it in the face of a system that is so big and omnipresent? I don't want you to feel powerless because you're not. There are things that you can do today to start fighting against this. You can start with the systems that are closest to you. For example, do you own a video doorbell? Last year, Ring announced a partnership with Flock Safety, who operates those license plate cameras, that would have integrated your doorbell footage into their network and given access to law enforcement. But this year, Ring canceled that partnership after a backlash from their customers.

11:16Yeah.

11:21Similarly, Kroger, the grocery store, was going to test camera-enabled shelf labels in their stores, but after people threatened to boycott and Congress was investigating, they canceled that plan as well.

11:35So look for these ways that surveillance is trying to creep into your life, and they are going to tempt you with convenience, and you have to tell them no. Become incredibly annoying to corporations for the sake of democracy, because history shows that you can win. But this isn't enough to take down data colonialism. We need to do more. So in your cities, in your counties, even your homeowners association, see if they have contracts with surveillance companies. Show up to town meetings and city halls when these issues are being discussed. Demand they turn over records. Insist that contracts be canceled.

12:13Are they letting data centers in that will take your land and divert your water and tax your power grid? insist that those permits be denied. And what is likely to happen is that your elected officials will not listen the first or the second time, but keep fighting, and if they refuse, vote them out of office, because you can work to make your communities as safe as possible from the influence of this system. At the state and federal level, we are so long overdue for fundamental reforms in the way we think about data ownership, privacy, and corporate governance. There's a lot of work to do there.

12:50But one place that we can start is by stopping the government from getting around the protections of requiring a warrant where they just buy our data from private companies.

13:05The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, expressly prohibits the government from doing bulk data collection on U.S. citizens, but the government has frequently gotten around that by buying the data from private companies. The FBI is doing this now. This so-called data broker loophole could be closed every time Congress reauthorizes FISA. The amendment to close it failed on a tie vote. And this year, they didn't even let the amendment come to the floor. FISA has lapsed. And it's a stark reminder of how colonialism re-entrenches itself by subverting democracy. So talk to your representatives and tell them to close the data broker loophole, and look at the state and local level as well so your government and law enforcement officials are not getting around the legal protections that we have over our data by going to private companies who have collected it without our consent and sell it to them with no protection.

14:03250 years ago, the founders said that when a system of government becomes oppressive, even if that's embodied in part in corporations, It's our right and our duty to throw it off. Our data belongs to us. It's valuable and it's powerful, but when it's extracted, that value and power is taken out of our hands. Under data colonialism, you are being exploited by a system that oppresses you, taking your data and using it to diminish the rights and protections that we hold foundational to our democracy. You should be angry, but you shouldn't feel powerless, because today's the day that you can commit to join the fight to dismantle data colonialism, reclaiming the power of our data into the hands of the people and ensuring the future of our democracy.

14:53Thank you.

14:59That was Jen Golbeck at TED Democracy Philadelphia in 2026. If you're curious about TED's curation, and visit ted.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is a podcast from TED. This episode was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Taubner, and Tansika Sungmarnivam. Additional support from Daniela Ballarezzo, Christopher Faze-Bogan, Valentina Bohanini, Banban Chang, Brian Green, and Lainey Lott. Learn more at podcasts.ted.com. I am Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feet.

15:41Thanks for listening.

15:53This episode is sponsored by Toyota. Expression shows up in ways we don't always notice. It's not just what we say. It's the choices we make, the things we surround ourselves with, the way we move through the world. Even something like the car you drive can be a form of expression. Toyota's new all-electric family leans into that idea. The CHR, for example, has a bold, distinctive design, something that stands out a little in a good way. While the BZ and the BZ Woodland each bring their own personality to the table, it's a reminder that the things we use every day don't have to be neutral. They can actually reflect who we are.

16:27Learn more at toyota.com, the new all-electric family. Toyota, let's go places.

17:01Jen Golbeck: See CapitalOne.com for details.