In this video, I use a sports metaphor to break down one of the most important issues of our time: the rapid expansion of mass surveillance and the growing effort to push back against it. The Surveillance Titans, which are powerful, well-funded corporations and data brokers that gather, gather, and make money on personal information at a massive scale, often work closely with government agencies, are on one side of the field. On the other side, there are the Civil Liberty Sentinels: lawyers, researchers, journalists, advocacy organizations, and independent creators who work to defend privacy, transparency, and individual rights. This is not a conspiracy theory. The surveillance ecosystem is highly profitable and has been hidden from the public since the Patriot Act passed. For decades, most surveillance decisions have been made behind closed doors. Today, that infrastructure is becoming increasingly visible, and public awareness is starting to matter. This is where the 12th man comes into play. The 12th man is synonymous with an energetic crowd in sports that can affect the outcome of a game. In the real world, a public that is informed and engaged can alter incentives, enforce transparency, and demand accountability. My objective for Business Reform is to educate the public about surveillance systems that we never gave our consent to — and to foster a serious, peaceful, and lawful public debate about where the line should be drawn.
