Maria Murphy

Dr Murphy researches in the areas of privacy law, surveillance, information technology law, and human rights. She is particularly interested in the interaction between technological advancement and human rights. She is currently working on a book to be published with Routledge with the working title, Language, Power, and Surveillance. 

Abstract: Language, Power, and Surveillance

The search for the ‘correct’ interpretation is a constant one in law. In the politically contentious field of surveillance law, additional challenges arise. While the ambiguity of human language limits the precision of all law, the secrecy prevalent in the surveillance sphere magnifies the effect. As modern surveillance is inherently associated with technology, an additional challenge to interpretability is created by the language used to describe the design and operation of surveillance systems. This comprehension gap can not only be used to assure a citizen of the necessity of a surveillance measure through bombardment and boredom, but also to convince a politician of a solution’s merit, and to assure a judge that the law is being followed. While contrary to notions of transparency and foreseeability, the development of intricate, ambiguous, and complex legislation can facilitate the quiet appropriation of power. This book takes the relationship between language, power, and surveillance as its central theme and uses a number of case studies to illustrate the particular challenges to transparent interpretation in the surveillance context. The laws of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland that are chosen for discussion in this book demonstrate how these challenges of language have enabled the expansion of surveillance powers with minimal scrutiny.

Privacy; Surveillance Law; Information Technology Law; Human Rights Law.