malveillance

Malveillance is a term used to describe the intentional, harmful use of surveillance techniques and data collection to monitor, control, or intimidate individuals or groups. It denotes surveillance conducted with malicious intent or for purposes that undermine privacy, safety, or civil liberties, rather than legitimate security, accountability, or public-interest objectives.

Practices associated with malveillance include covert monitoring, doxxing, stalking, coercive surveillance by authorities, or using data analytics to target and manipulate people. It encompasses both overt abuses by powerful actors such as states or corporations and subtler forms in the digital environment, such as social engineering or exploitation of software vulnerabilities.

Malveillance relies on technologies and infrastructures such as surveillance cameras, facial recognition, spyware, data brokers, and smartphone apps. It may involve data collection without consent, excessive retention, broad data sharing, or abuse of access by insiders. The consequences include reputational damage, discrimination, coercion, physical or psychological harm, and wider erosion of trust in institutions.

Legal and ethical responses seek to curb malveillance through privacy and data-protection laws, transparency obligations, consent and proportionality standards, and independent oversight. Safeguards include data minimization, encryption, robust access controls, audits, and redress mechanisms. Critics argue for stronger accountability, whistleblower protections, and public-awareness efforts to reduce vulnerability to such practices.

See also: surveillance, privacy, data protection, doxxing, spyware, surveillance capitalism, whistleblowing.