Sousveillance

Sousveillance [ suvejɑs ] (French for " Unterwachung " ) refers to the reversal of the usual monitoring path. While normally controlling state or otherwise privileged institutions persons without privileges, there are at Sousveillance monitorees, observe the higher ranking institutions.

Concept and term was coined by the American Professor Steve Mann as " watchful vigilance from underneath" (English " careful vigilance from below" ). Man conducts research in the fields of wearable computing and augmented reality and has developed devices like the EyeTap technical means by which ordinary people can permanently record images of their environment without any fuss.

He formed the concept of Sousveillance as a criticism of the policy thrusts in the direction of a police state. Man who feels himself to be the first human cyborg and considered its technical aids as body parts demonstrated in the past, users of surveillance cameras repeatedly how uncomfortable it feels when all your actions are recorded by others.

• Computer science and society