Government Surveillance Technology and The Value of Trust

Abstract

This thesis is about government surveillance technology in relation to the value of trust in society. The 2006 EU Data Retention Directive is used as an example of surveillance technology that invades privacy for the sake of security. It will be argued that trust enables cooperation and morality in society, and asked in what way the Directive relates to these values. The focus lies upon the relation of trust between government and citizens. The Directive fails to recognize the value of trust in relation to cooperation and morality in society, because it fails to respect its citizens, and therefore has a bad influence on the climate of trust.