Surveillance Influence On Society

Surveillance has many forms and facets. The primary function of surveillance is to collect personal information by “employment, commercial, and administrative agencies, as well as in policing and security” (Boykoff 729). Surveillance has the capacity to create a fully functional society in which “enables people to fully participate in society” (Boykoff 731), but at the same time it can be one of the greatest pitfalls of the nation if used improperly. Surveillance has immensely impacted society for the better with medical surveillance prolonging the life of those that are ill. Nevertheless, there is “conspicuous surveillance” (Boykoff 732) that deviates from its central purpose and serves to harass and intimidate, such as military technology
King’s death in 1968 operating through the social mechanism of intimidation collecting information in the suspicion of being involved in a radical political activity (Boykoff 732).
Dr. King was a target of state surveillance as he emerged as an important leader in the Civil Rights Movement. First, FBI discredited King’s character by forging communist connections. There was not strong evidence about the communist connection to continue surveillance, but after JG Kelly, a member of the FBI, found SCLC’s statement against segregation and its promise to combat racial injustice and fighting for voting rights of black people, he asserted that SCLC was a “likely target for communist infiltration” (Boykoff 733). Trivial situations such as King appreciating black Communist Party member
King’s character was by attacking his reputation as a black man, husband, and father. Surveillance aimed to “besmirch his reputation by bringing his private affairs before the public eye” (Boykoff 737). As Dr. King became a stronger leader, national interest of Civil Rights issues increased, leading Hoover and other FBI members to wiretap King’s hotel rooms to collect information about Dr. King’s personal life “to discredit the effectiveness of Martin Luther King Jr, as a Negro leader” (Boykoff 739). For example, FBI collected audio of King making an offensive comment about President Kenney’s wife and footage of Dr. King with other women than his wife, trying to destroy his trust among the public and his own wife, Correta Scott King. This method restricts Dr. King’s freedom, limiting his ability to speak, think, talk, and do as he pleases. Moreover, FBI’s goal was not to only make the public lose trust in Dr. King, but also to get Dr. King to commit suicide after sending a letter threatening Dr. King: “King, like all frauds your end is approaching. You have turned out to be not a leader, but a dissolute, abnormal moral imbecile. King, I repeat you are done” (Boykoff 741). FBI’s method was to no longer bring down Dr. King as a Civil Rights leader, but as a man. Essentially, the FBI was discrediting Dr. King’s character by breaking him, his self-respect. This is inhumane and