Corporate Surveillance

The Business Model of Behavioral Modification

T

he contemporary internet operates on a business model called surveillance capitalism—a term coined by Harvard Professor Shoshana Zuboff. Companies offer "free" services in exchange for detailed behavioral data, which they analyze to predict and influence user behavior.

The Surveillance Business Model

📊 Data Collection

  • Browsing history and search queries
  • Location tracking (GPS, WiFi, cell towers)
  • Social connections and communications
  • Purchase history and financial data
  • Biometric data (face, voice, fingerprints)
  • Device sensors (accelerometer, microphone, camera)
  • App usage patterns and screen time

🤖 Analysis & Profiling

  • Machine learning creates psychological profiles
  • Predict future behavior and preferences
  • Infer sensitive attributes (health, politics, sexuality)
  • Build "shadow profiles" of non-users
  • Cross-device tracking and identity resolution
  • Sentiment analysis of messages and posts

🎯 Behavioral Modification

  • Personalized content feeds maximize engagement
  • A/B testing to optimize user manipulation
  • Targeted advertising based on vulnerabilities
  • Algorithmic amplification of divisive content
  • Variable reward schedules (addiction mechanisms)
  • Social pressure through likes and notifications

💰 Monetization

  • Sell advertising access to your attention
  • Sell data to brokers and third parties
  • Premium targeting for political campaigns
  • Insurance and credit score adjustments
  • Price discrimination based on profiles
  • Market research and competitive intelligence

The Major Players

🔵 Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)

Business Model: Surveillance advertising ($116B revenue in 2022)

Data Collected: 3 billion users' complete social graphs, messages, locations, browsing, purchases, biometrics

Notable Scandals:

  • Cambridge Analytica (2018): 87 million users' data harvested for political targeting [Guardian]
  • Mood Manipulation Experiment (2014): Deliberately altered news feeds to study emotional contagion [Atlantic]
  • WhatsApp Privacy Policy (2021): Forced data sharing with Facebook despite encryption promises [EFF]

Source: EFF - Facebook Privacy Settings

🔴 Google/Alphabet

Business Model: Surveillance advertising + Cloud services ($280B revenue in 2022)

Data Collected: Search history, Gmail content, YouTube viewing, Android device data, location history, voice recordings

Surveillance Infrastructure:

  • Google Analytics: Tracks 55%+ of all website traffic globally
  • Chrome Browser: 65% market share, extensive telemetry
  • Android: 71% of mobile OS market, Google Services embedded
  • DoubleClick: Ad network tracks users across millions of sites
  • Nest/Fitbit: Home and health surveillance devices

Research: Vanderbilt Study: Google Data Collection (2018)

Guide: EFF - How Google Shares and Monetizes Data

📦 Amazon

Business Model: E-commerce + Cloud + Surveillance devices ($514B revenue in 2022)

Data Collected: Purchase history, browsing, Alexa voice recordings, Ring doorbell footage, Kindle reading habits, AWS customer data

Surveillance Products:

  • Alexa: Always-listening assistant in 100M+ homes [EFF Investigation]
  • Ring Doorbells: Partnerships with 2,000+ police departments [EFF Report]
  • Sidewalk Network: Turns Echo/Ring into mesh surveillance network
  • Rekognition: Facial recognition sold to law enforcement [EFF Analysis]

🍎 Apple

Business Model: Hardware sales + Services ($394B revenue in 2022)

Privacy Marketing vs. Reality:

  • Better than competitors: End-to-end encryption for iMessage/FaceTime, on-device processing
  • But still collects: Extensive telemetry, iCloud data (not E2EE by default), App Store tracking
  • China Compliance: Stores Chinese users' data on government-controlled servers [NYT Investigation]
  • CSAM Scanning Controversy: 2021 plan to scan photos sparked privacy concerns [EFF Response]

Data Brokers: The Hidden Industry

Beyond the tech giants, a multi-billion dollar industry exists to buy, aggregate, and sell personal data:

Major Data Brokers

  • Acxiom: Profiles on 2.5 billion people worldwide
  • Experian: Credit + marketing data on 235M+ Americans
  • Epsilon: Processes 400M+ transactions daily
  • Oracle: 5 billion user profiles globally
  • LexisNexis: 10,000+ data sources aggregated

EFF - Consumer Privacy Issues

What They Sell

  • Real-time location data
  • Financial status and credit scores
  • Health conditions and prescriptions
  • Political affiliations and donations
  • Religious beliefs and practices
  • Sexual orientation indicators
  • Mental health status
  • Pregnancy predictions

EFF Report: Behind the One-Way Mirror

Real-World Harms

  • Political Manipulation: Targeted disinformation and voter suppression
  • Discriminatory Pricing: Different prices shown based on profiles
  • Insurance & Employment: Decisions based on purchased data
  • Stalking & Harassment: Location brokers enable abusers
  • Law Enforcement: Warrantless surveillance via data purchase
  • Mental Health: Algorithmic amplification of harmful content
  • Children: Profiling and targeting minors for manipulation

Protecting Yourself

Immediate Actions

  • Delete Facebook, Instagram, TikTok
  • Switch from Chrome to Firefox/Brave
  • Use DuckDuckGo instead of Google Search
  • Install uBlock Origin ad blocker
  • Enable tracking protection in browsers
  • Use privacy-focused email (ProtonMail)

Advanced Steps

  • Use VPN for all internet traffic
  • Install LineageOS or GrapheneOS on phone
  • De-Google your life completely
  • Opt out of data broker databases
  • Use privacy.com for card numbers
  • Self-host your services

Further Reading