Interception - State Surveillance from Postal Systems to Global Networks

A media history of how the UK and US governments have surveilled citizens by intercepting their private communications. It may not be Big Brother (yet), but the state is watching you--watching all of us, in fact, systematically intercepting our private communications and putting them to work in its own interests. In Keenan analyzes key moments in this history, from the formation of the postal system to cable networks, satellites, and the internet, with particular attention to the role that media play in determining the political and legal conditions of the power of interception in governmental affairs. While chiefly focused on Britain, the Empire, and the post-1945 UK-USA signal intelligence alliance, the book's analysis has international reach across networks and jurisdictions, connecting Edward Snowden's disclosures, and post-2013 developments, to a longer media history, foregrounding the technical dimensions of an inherently secret practice and well-guarded political power. Ultimately, Keenan's work reveals how law and information systems have been interpolated over time, linking communication, governmental power, law, and information science--often to dark, anti-democratic ends.

About the author

Bernard Keenan is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Laws, University College London. He works at the intersection of law, social theory, and new technologies.

Product details

• Authors: Bernard Keenan
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 27.05.2025
• EAN: 9780262552578
• ISBN: 978-0-262-55257-8
• No. of pages: 286
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 14 mm
• Series: History and Foundations of Information Science
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, Political science & theory, Social issues & processes, Ethical issues & debates, Political science and theory, Ethical issues and debates, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Privacy & Surveillance, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Privacy & Surveillance, Control, privacy and safety in society