Technology, Law, and the Formation of (il)Liberal Democracy?

This article argues that the politics of surveillance and (il)liberalism in Australia is conditioned by the dynamic interplay between technological development and law. Applying criminologist Richard Ericson’s concept of ‘counter-law’, the article illustrates how rapidly advancing capacities for surveillance and Australia's legal infrastructure collide. In this view, even regulatory safeguards can be instrumental in the broader drift toward (il)liberal democracy. Drawing on the Australian context to illustrate a broader global trend, this article conveys how such an apparatus of control reflective of (il)liberal democracy might be more accurately understood as a form of socio-technical rule-with-law.