Invasive behaviour that would have shocked us a decade ago now barely registers. And that includes the way we digitally track and monitor each other<\/p>\n
A TikTok comedian recently launched a fake ICE tip line and received dozens of calls \u2013 including one from a teacher suggesting agents look into a kindergartener in her class. Governments and companies are the architects of surveillance culture, but civilians are increasingly keen to play a part. <\/strong>And <\/strong>it\u2019s not just our perceived political enemies we\u2019re willing to watch. It\u2019s our friends, neighbours, partners and children.<\/p>\n As corporations and governments tunnel further into our digital lives \u2013 hoarding information about where we shop, who we know and what we believe \u2013 we\u2019ve grown increasingly comfortable demanding the same access in our personal lives. While multiple apps log our location throughout the day, we demand that our friends also share their real-time movements through Apple\u2019s Find My feature. While OpenAI uses our chat logs to train its models, we peek into the text messages of our partners. And while Palantir analyses social media data<\/a> to help ICE identify its targets, we record strangers in public without their consent.<\/p>\n Tatum Hunter is a technology journalist based in Brooklyn. She writes on Substack at Bytatumhunter<\/p>\n