The Private Security State: Surveillance, Consumer Data and the War on Terror

The last decade has witnessed the emergence of a surveillance-industrial complex as securitised data about customers begins to flow between the private sector and government.

Through detailed empirical analysis The Private Security State? questions how private sector organizations achieve compliance with demands for customer data. Whilst others have argued that diffused security arrangements de-politicises it, this book shows that national security becomes re-politicised as it re-surfaces in the politics of production within the business enterprise.

The Private Security State? revolves around case studies of two surveillance regimes: The Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terror Finance regulations in retail financial services; and the EBorders regulations in the retail travel industry.

The book examines how these new government demands for information intertwine with the activities of private sector organizations, as their systems, processes, customers and employees are integrated into national security frameworks.