Before getting into the definitions of sUS’s values, it will be helpful to define data. Our whole mission revolves around data.
Just about anything can be data: facts (or falsehoods); opinions; fingerprints; the features of your face; the purchases you make; words; your location at any moment; your political party and anything else you can think of.
All this data is collected, stored, and analyzed for various reasons without your permission. The most common reason others want your data is for them to make money—and you don’t get a cut, not a single nickel.
Many of the richest billionaires made their fortunes off your data: Zuckerberg, Bezos, and others. Is this fair?
Value Definitions
sUS is a grassroots movement: Our purpose is to organize and mobilize individuals in the Southern Tier of NY to work toward the common goal of blunting the sharp edges of surveillance capitalism into a cradling system of responsible surveillance. As a movement, rather than a group or organization, every individual is a leader, and the words and ideas of each member are equally valued. As a movement we will not seek a formal, legal structure such as becoming a nonprofit organization. We will work with other groups as independent and equal members of coalitions.
Equality: SUS values the equality of all people, no matter their gender, sex, economic status, race, ethnicity, etc. We believe in the abolition of all forms of marginalization and hold that all stand equal before the law. Within the SUS movement, all have equal say, one vote, and practice non hierarchal leadership.
Self Determination: As individuals, many of us are unaware we are generating immense amounts of digital data each day. We are even less aware of who is harvesting our data and for what purposes it is used. Many of these purposes we may disagree with, such as social engineering, government intelligence gathering, and enriching the coffers of ultra wealthy technology oligarchs. We believe the individual should determine how most of their data is used and that self determination represents a civil liberty as much as any in the bill of rights. Self Determination also is a vital component of responsible surveillance as it allows the individual to have a say over which data points will be used to benefit their communities.
Cooperation over competition: Capitalism is based on competition and many in our world are suffering from this economic system. sUS values cooperation as a means of achieving our goals. Cooperation is more effective in problem solving, generating a variety of ideas and completing the complex tasks needed to achieve our mission. Our value of horizontal leadership supports this value as there aren’t any prestigious positions to compete to attain in this movement. sUS recognizes there will be disagreements. When consensus cannot be achieved, those present will vote for which idea or course of action will be chosen.
Own your data: As you go about your day you generate loads of data. Probably without thinking about it. Your data is collected and others claim ownership of it to do as they will.
SUS believes you should own your own data
Owning your data gives you the ability to control the data that you generate. By owning your data, you decide how it’s used. And who uses it.
In short, owning your data would give you the ability to maintain your privacy by choosing how much of yourself you share.
Common wisdom says the internet never forgets. Controlling your data allows you to give the global brain amnesia.
Opt In: Opt in is simple as a definition. The term simply means to participate. However simple the definition is, whether a system is opt in or opt out has huge consequences for who controls your data.
As a SUS value, opt in means you agree to have your data, or portions of your data, collected. You have control of your data and how it is used.
Harvesting data is performed under the conditions the data will be used only for the purposes you and the business agree to. And the data collection will stop the moment you opt out.
Data Integrity: A complicated topic. What data integrity means for our purposes is our information is accurate each time it is used. The holder of our data will not make changes to our data we do not give permission to make.
Data integrity also means the data holder will not make copies of our data without permission.
Most importantly our data will only be used for what we give the holder permission to use it for, and the holder will delete the data fully, saving no copies, when we order her to do so.
Regain Privacy: In the US, there are few privacy protections—HIPPA and the 1974 Privacy Act being the two main, narrow exceptions.
Privacy laws are left to the states. In those few states mandating privacy protections, the laws are weak and outdated. Most states provide no protections for individual privacy.
Without protection, people’s data are being collected, warehoused, and sold without a whisper of permission. In fact, numerous corporations have created virtual files on you, and your kids. These dossiers contain everything there is to know about you.
The fourth amendment is supposed to protect you from unreasonable search and seizure. Federal law allows law enforcement to ask for those dossiers. No court order needed.
People of say, “I’m not doing anything wrong, why should I care if their looking?” In reply SUS asks, “Why are they looking?”
SUS fights for adequate privacy laws whose protections keep pace with technology’s evolution.
The Right to be Forgotten: The right to be forgotten, also known as erasure, entitles individuals to direct organizations, and to a more limited effect, governments to delete any data these institutions have on them. This deletion includes data held in back up databases as well. Currently, no such laws (that SUS is aware of) exist in the United States. Only certain GDPR signatory countries provide its citizens with such rights. To gain erasure in the US will require massive citizen and legislative support.
Anonymity: SUS champions the value of digital anonymity: the right to use a handle or pseudonym not connected to one’s legal name. Anonymity is important for marginalized groups, political dissidents, and stigmatized groups the ability to practice their first amendment rights without reprisals. The internet is often the primary source of support for these populations because of the ability to remain anonymous. Protecting anonymity means the right to access genuine encryption that governments and corporations cannot gain access to. Anonymity is also a method to protect oneself from the predatory practices of data brokers and other surveillance capitalists. Protecting anonymity means also means SUS stands firm in its opposition to age verification laws to access any website or bulletin board connected to the internet.
Imperfection: SUS values the aphorism that perfection is the enemy of the good. In today’s world tech, AI, and media are moving faster than ever. As activists, we too must move with unprecedented speed to protect society. When surveillance capitalism incidents demand our reaction, we cannot tarry and seek to design the perfect plan, action, or any other response. SUS recognizes it and its members are imperfect. We criticize no one for imperfection, seeking only to learn from mistakes.
Data Transparency: Data transparency means being open, clear, and truthful about how an organization collects data, uses and stores its data, and fully discloses if and how it shares its data. SUS believes any organization and government institution collecting people’s data adhere to data transparency. Being transparent doesn’t translate to sharing identifying information on everyone data is collected on. But an individual, with some exceptions, should be able to learn if an organization has data stored on them and have it erased if desired (the right to be forgotten). Such practice will help rebuild trust between Americans and their institutions.
No Shaming: SUS intends to grow into a movement of people with a wide variety of beliefs, cultures, political views, and more. To make our movement effective we will have to practice tolerance, acceptance, and a good measure of humor. Shaming is often used to silence opinions one doesn’t agree with or to coerce another to say they agree with the shamer when they don’t. SUS members will use discussion rather than shame to try and convince others of their position. If two members cannot agree on a position, they will attempt to respect the others position. If the difference of opinion concerns a SUS policy, action, etc. The committee of full body will vote and make the decision.
Responsible Surveillance: Our movement exists to use democratic methods to fight surveillance capitalism and replace it with responsible surveillance. Responsible surveillance will operationalize many of the values in this document. SUS envisions a coming era where we are not tracked, constantly monitored, and their every action and decision monitored for the profits of others. Instead, we will be minimally and responsibly surveilled for the true benefit of all. The equal distribution of responsible surveillance rather than the current concentration of public surveillance in poor and marginalized neighborhoods may lead to the establishment of public trust.