Big Data Surveillance: Snowden, Everyday Practices and the Digital Future

The CCJS annual lecture 2016 will be presented by Professor David Lyon, who will be discussing recent developments in Big Data.

This is a free event but registration is required in advance. After the lecture there will be a reception in the Liberty Building Atrium.

Big Data (BD) did not appear as a new set of practices but as an amalgamation of previous practices. Surveillance of many kinds has for a decade and more been influenced by BD practices. Where did BD originate and how does it relate to today's surveillance trends and cultures? What real differences are made by BD in data capture and analysis and at a deeper level? Are BD practices likely to add up to qualitative changes in surveillance -- does BD increase the liquidity of surveillance? Big Data challenges conventional practice at several levels; what priorities should be maintained to ensure that those challenges are met? 

David Lyon is Director, Surveillance Studies Centre, Queen’s Research Chair in Surveillance Studies, Professor of Sociology and Professor of Law at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

David completed his Social Science and History education in Bradford, Yorkshire (BSc Soc Sci, PhD). He has authored or edited 29 books and published many articles. The books have been translated into 16 languages. His latest book is Surveillance after Snowden (2015).