Surveillance as political feedback

Top‑down surveillance systems in dense, wired societies can incidentally function as large‑scale sensors of public sentiment, while bottom‑up 'sousveillance' (viral citizen reports) can create corrective information flows into authoritarian hierarchies. This dual role means surveillance infrastructure both represses dissent and, paradoxically, amplifies grassroots signals that rulers can use to adjust policy. — If true, this reframes debates about surveillance technology: it isn't only a repression tool but also a substitute (imperfect) for electoral feedback, with major implications for accountability, technology governance, and how democracies and autocracies respond to crises.