Armand Mattelart offers an in-depth analysis of the history of surveillance and how the use of its technology is spreading all over the world. This form of control first began in the 1900s with criminal anthropometry. Today, many technological innovations with the purpose of making our lives easier are also increasing the amount we are being watched. The events of September 11, 2001 have accelerated the trend and surveillance opened the way for laws to be passed in the name of national security, that have in one fell swoop done away with civil liberties and the right to privacy deemed as precious as democracy itself. Mattelart believes the effects of the war against terrorism have created a world not far off from the vision depicted by George Orwell in his novel 1984. He raises the important question of why democratic societies are increasingly tolerant of new surveillance techniques that are becoming ever more intrusive and omnipresent. References to philosophers such as Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, and others are included in this comprehensive study.