The Radio Interview

LISTEN TO MY METRO FM INTERVIEW HERE

Recently, I took part in a radio interview with one of South Africa’s leading radio stations,,MetroFM. The subject of my discussion with the broadcaster, Ayabonga Cawe, was probably one of the most important subjects I’ve ever discussed on a national platform.

It was not my first interview but the one I’ll forever remember. The discussion with Ayabonga was inspired by an announcement by the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, that in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic mobile technology would be used to track citizens.

I say it’s important partly because I think we will look back at this moment and say it marked a significant change. This moment might mark a watershed moment in the history of surveillance. My sense is that it might normalise the deployment of mass surveillance tools such as mobile tech apps tracking. This may not be the case in South Africa for now, however, in other countries similar interventions may live beyond COVID-19.

Someone argued that that it signifies the dramatic transition from “over the skin” to “under the skin surveillance”.

This scholar who shared this thought explained it as follows…when your finger touched the screen of your smartphone and clicked on a link, the government wanted to know what exactly your finger was clicking on. Now with coronavirus, the focus of interest shifts. Now the government wants to know the temperature of your finger and the blood pressure under its skin.

You can now listen to my MetroFM interview here and read my column on Business Report here