---
tags: [ecopolsoc, internet, surveillance-capitalism]
created: Sunday, December 01, 2024
---

# fbbfbc32-political-accommodation-inveigelment-surveillance-capitalism

The reason why surveillance capitalism was able to take root when it did was not
merely down to technological forces. Google, as the originator of the form, was
able to exploit the political currents of the time to further innoculate itself
against scrutiny and oversight.

The discovery of behavioural surplus coincided with September 11 and the
subsequent "global war on terror". The quest for domestic "security" led to the
sweeping erosion of previous generations' privacy rights.

Prior to 911, the FCC had been arranging a series of legal challenges to Google
on the question of privacy. This went out the window in the post-911 era where
Google's unique ability to track and surveil online behaviour became a coveted
commodity for the intelligence apparatus. Google began working closely with both
the CIA and the NSA, with the CIA establishing an office and forward base in
Silicon Valley.

There was an deep interdependency between the Pentagon, intelligence agencies
and Google:

_The US intelligence community's incubation of Google from inception occurred
through a combination of direct sponsorship and informal networks of financial
influence, themselves closely aligned with Pentagon interests._

_The Age of Surveillance Capitalism_ (2019): 118

Another key aspect was cosying up to politicians during the electoral cycle.
Most notably during Obama's elections:

_Google demonstrated that the same predictive knowledge derived from behavioural
surplus that had made the surveillance capitalists wealthy could also help
candidates win elections_

_Ibid_: 122

Eric Schmidt took an active role in making Google's dataset and technologies
available to the Obama campaign in both of his elections in order to target
voters more accurately. He then was swiftly appointed to advisory roles within
the administration throughout both terms.
