Second Life Surveillance: Power to the People or Virtual Surveillance Society?

Abstract

In the virtual world of Second Life, almost all content is user-generated and users retain a significant amount of autonomy. Given this freedom, participants are able to create, acquire, and use their own forms of surveillance. With accessible, affordable, and easy to use options, ordinary participants regularly deploy surveillance to protect themselves and their interests, businesses, and property. This paper examines the applications, awareness, and climate of surveillance within the virtual world. It argues that the socio-technical environment of Second Life facilitates problematic covert surveillance, but also makes possible forms of resistance. Examples of surveillance technologies and applications reveal the ways in which the virtual world supports and obscures surveillance, making these practices challenging for participants to detect, analyze, and respond to. However, the recent controversial case of RedZone not only highlights some of the most pressing issues with Second Life surveillance, but also the ways in which participants are able to respond to perceived threats. Although ostensibly intended to track Internet protocol (IP) addresses in order to prevent in-world harassment and theft, participants expressed widespread concern at the program’s potential for associating online and offline information and for linking together different avatars. In doing so, awareness was raised, protests were made, and counter-technologies were developed. These responses point to the ways in which the virtual world makes possible resistance to surveillance practices, especially when they are seen as a threat or intrusion.