Surveillance is outsourced to unwitting casual laborers in exposed jobs

Evidence

Many tasks are discharged by casual labor, which is both easier to conceal from the law and less demanding on the firm’s resources. Some services are provided by potential customers, who then receive special deals in return. Much spying, for instance, is conducted by taxi drivers, porters, and people who work outdoors. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 173

Categorization

• XREF: The outsourcing of spying to taxi drivers and porters mirrors the information-gathering role of intermediaries in the reader’s private-judge framework (Milgrom). Casual labor blurs the boundary between formal membership and the wider protection market. — connects to: Surveillance of workers installs most densely in low-wage work. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 482; The boundary between workplace and workforce surveillance is dissolving — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 229; Freelancers trade personal surveillance for faster guaranteed payment. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 232 (+2 more)