Time elapsed without consequences is a deliberate habituation tactic

Evidence

There are two key elements here that illuminate habituation tactics. The first is the simple fact of the elapsed time between Street View’s initial incursion in 2007, the 2010 scandal, the 2012 conclusion of the FCC inquiry, and the 2013 conclusion of the states’ investigation. The German investigation also closed in late 2012, with little to show for its trouble. Other contests and lawsuits lumbered on. Despite all the sound and fury, Google continued to operate Street View during those years. Between 2008 and 2010, 600 billion bytes of personal information were collected “illegitimately” around the world, 200 billion of those in the US. The corporation said that it had discontinued personal data collection. Had it? Can anyone say with certainty? Even if it had, the original incursion that was Street View continued unscathed. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 463

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s noise/silence work on how prolonged exposure normalizes what was once intolerable.
• FICTION: The idea that a corporation profits by waiting out public outrage — elapsed time as the real weapon — is a strong engine for a dystopian narrative.