What harms may come? Exploring the anticipatory dimensions of surveillance resistance in an age of datafication

In an era of ubiquitous data collection, everyday life is suffused with surveillance. The actions of different individuals and social groups are continuously tracked, sorted, and categorized by states and corporations to predict and govern human behaviour. Despite the growing ubiquity of these processes, they often evade notice until their harms are revealed. For communities targeted for surveillance by states, corporations, and other antagonistic actors, how to find safety amidst the consequent uncertainties of surveillance presents an ongoing dilemma. To address the uncertainties, threats, and harms of surveillance, civil society actors working beyond the state and corporate realm come together through transnational collaborations to brainstorm how to anticipate probable surveillance and mitigate its harms. Yet, understanding how to act amidst presumed surveillance and resulting harms such as harassment, violence, and discrimination, is continuously contested. This thesis delves into the politics and practices of contemporary resistance to surveillance in an era of societal datafication. Its overarching research question is: how does transnational civil society grapple with the uncertainties of contemporary surveillance-related threats and harms? The thesis explores the temporal and affective dimensions of life under continued threat from actors and institutions that direct biometric surveillance, targeted digital intrusions, preemptive policing, and a milieu of other techniques against the interests of civil society actors concerned with human rights and social justice.