The spectre of spies is well known in Brussels; with EU institutions and NATO calling the city home, diplomats take it as given that watchful eyes lurk in the shadows.
But in this day and age, things are less Bond and more bot, with surveillance largely carried out online, we are told. To guard against leaks, Western governments have gone into overdrive with securing the devices of members, most notably applying blanket bans on Tiktok over fears that user data on the Chinese app was vulnerable to the prying of the Chinese State.
More insidious is the Pegasus spyware that operated far more covertly to harvest sensitive data from the devices of officials. Russia's embassy in Brussels has the air of a fortress and is bedecked with antennae, though experts say that many of the excess telecommunications decorations are there more as a statement than for increased observation capacity.
Importantly, the more we think about snooping, the more we adapt behaviour even if we're not actually being watched. Indeed, nurturing a psychological state of suspicion is an old tactic, popularised largely by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham's panopticon – a prison design that inculcates the assumption one is constantly being observed.
The result is a general attitude of distrust and cynicism, even if unneeded. With Belgium's intelligence service likening espionage today to the Cold War, the fidelity that might normally be granted to national institutions comes into question. The ensuing erosion of confidence in systems intended to protect public liberties opens space for civil disobedience – often stoked by conspiracy theories.
Such can already be seen with the "Great Replacement Theory", a fallacious narrative weaponized by far-right groups to stigmatise anti-migrant sentiment and subvert established channels of debate. In today's growing climate of paranoia, pushing back against scepticism is as important as securing data.
Looking over your shoulder? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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