Facebook & “Surveillance Towers” in Palestine

Forms of Facebook Surveillance

According to Vaidhyanathan (2018), Facebook utilizes three forms of surveillance:

Facebook uses personal information to match advertisements with user interest.

Facebook users can watch and track each other, and in some cases might lead to harassment and shaming.

3.State Surveillance

“Governments use Facebook to spy on citizens or anyone they consider suspicious […]” (Vaidhyanathan, 2018, p.2).

“Surveillance Towers” in Palestine

The results of a study conducted by Shahrazad Odeh in 2018 show that many Palestinian women cannot fully and freely express themselves on social media platforms, and this is mainly due to a phenomenon they experience called the “surveillance tower”.

The Israeli occupation restrict freedom of movement, expression of opinion and choice of different and safe spaces for self-expression. It also reinforces existing social structures, and limits the paths of change and growth within the community, thereby increasing the nexus of violence within the society for ‘vulnerable’ individuals such as women, transgender people, and homosexuals.

Citation by Odeh (2018, pp. 12)

Therefore, we can imagine the forms of surveillance practiced by Israeli forces to oppress Palestinians, and Palestinian women are no exception.

In addition, Palestinian women experience discomfort when having family members on Facebook/other social media platforms. This especially applies to males such as fathers, uncles, and cousins, who are using it as a way to practice their patriarchal beliefs and to “watch over” the girls. As a result, the Palestinian woman’s freedom of expression on social media is limited by what may affect her family’s reputation. Although usually the intention is to protect women from virtual harm/ violence, but “there is a fine line between supervision and surveillance” (Odeh, 2018, pp. 18).

Reference List

Vaidhyanathan, S. (2018, August 18). Anti Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Indian Cultural Forum. Retrieved from: https://archive.indianculturalforum.in/2018/08/18/anti-social-media-how-facebook-disconnects-us-and-undermines-democracy/

Odeh, S. (2018). A VIOLENT NETWORK: Gender-Based Violence Against Palestinian Women in Virtual Space. (A. Carmel, Ed.). Kvinna till Kvinna in cooperation with 7amleh.