ABSTRACT

When surveillance functionalities are embedded into security tools and systems the risk of facing a backlash, due to widespread privacy concerns, may increase dramatically. Speed enforcement cameras, for instance, have produced strong resistance in the UK since 2001. This chapter aims at shedding light on the complex phenomenon represented by public resistance to, or acceptance of, surveillance technologies used to ensure human security, by offering insights on a particular surveillance technology, which is Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). Based on the analysis of the data, the chapter offers evidence of the detrimental effects that a technology's perceived degree of intrusiveness exercises on a technology's perceived effectiveness. The chapter identifies empirical support for the claim that security and privacy, being part of a broader concept of human security, are compatible rather than antagonistic dimensions. It also identifies that preliminary evidence of the negative effects caused by the adoption of blanket-surveillance security strategies on end-users' perceptions.