Human rights, regulation, and national security (introduction)

Law disciplines technology, though it does so in a partial and incomplete way. This fact is refl ected in the old adage that technology outstrips the capacity of law to regulate it. The rise of new technologies poses a signifi cant threat to human rights. The pervasive use of closedcircuit television (CCTV), as well as mobile CCTV, telecommunications interception, and low-cost audiovisual recording and tracking devices (some of these discreetly wearable), extend the power of the state and corporations to signifi cantly intrude into the lives of citizens.