Elf on the Shelf conditions your kids to accept the surveillance state

This may seem an overreaction to a harmless Christmas toy — and perhaps it would be, were the surveillance state not so insidious. A century ago, the Elf on the Shelf might have been a relatively harmless addition to the cast of Santa’s more punitive companions.

But technological advancements have made mass surveillance possible at a scale that seemed unimaginable just a few decades ago. Even smart appliances are increasingly capable of spying. Portions of China already operate in a panopticon state, and what China has pioneered — the facial recognition now, and perhaps the social credit system in the future — ostensibly liberal democratic nations like the United Kingdom and the United States are hastening to imitate.

None of this is normal, and it is not okay — but it might feel that way if you spent your formative years being told surveillance is a good way to prove to a powerful authority figure what a nice and deserving person you are. That’s a problem, because concern about mass surveillance is not the stuff of tin foil crackpots and conspiracy theorists. This is a real threat to our privacy and civil liberties, and history shows it will harm socially and politically vulnerable communities the most.