The Digital Transformation Of The European Union Surveillance Technologies From Panopticon To Eurosur

Authors : Özlem ULTAN

Pages : 65-72

View : 35 | Download : 29

Publication Date : 2023-09-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The European Union is currently implementing a digital transformation process in many policy areas. The surveillance technology of the Union is one of them. From the historical perspective, this study concentrates on analysing the relation between Jeremy Bentham’s ‘Panopticon model’ and Micheal Foucault\`s ‘Watchtower’ approach and the digital transformation of the European Union surveillance technologies. Bentham’s Panopticon model is a metaphor which describes the new society of the eighteenth century. Foucault took it as an example, improved the idea and tried to describe the model as a watchtower. The main aim of Foucault was to illustrate the differences between surveillance techniques before and after the eighteenth century. Taking these models as a starting point, this study aims to show the digital transformation of the European Union’s surveillance methods as a common policy. For this purpose, it will be examined whether the EU\`s surveillance systems and border policies are a permanent cage for modern society as stated in these models or not, especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Keywords : Panoptikon, Gözetleme Kulesi, Bentham, Takip, Covid 19