Abstract

Control and surveillance are key elements of the Information Society. This is due to several factor, including the diffusion, pervasiveness and ubiquity of ICTs, globalization, security and terrorism alarms. Taking into account the relationship between power, secrecy, and transparency, this paper argues that the pair "security and control" is now substituting "security and privacy"; as a consequence, society regresses and modern democracies often violate the fundamental right to privacy. Electronic surveillance becomes crucial and it goes much deeper than the one proposed by Bentham. Furthermore, this paper analyzes some aspects of the most relevant concepts and theories of surveillance (e.g. Panopticon, Superpanopticon, Dataveillance, Synopticon, Polyopticon). Eventually, it proposes some remedies to reduce the strength and the diffusion of control and surveillance practices in contemporary society.