Total Trust takes a visceral look at digital control in China, where unprecedented levels of state surveillance prevail through trust, fear, obedience and resistance. It aims to explore the changes of social behaviors caused by an all-seeing society and finds its lasting power in the people who are fighting against the abuse of state power.  

In recent years, the Chinese government has felt its control threatened as activism and public outrage increases over a slowing economy and growing social issues. To counteract these events, China has started extending a sophisticated digital system across the country. Aimed at tracking and monitoring citizens, collecting, analyzing their data and categorizing behaviors as either punishable or commendable, this system hopes to predict political resistance within society before it happens. And since COVID the pandemic is abused to install a gapless digital control net. The citizens are monitored 24/7 as never imagined before.  

We learn how this complex digital monitoring works through the people living under this surveillance – from ordinary people to people who have been particularly targeted by the government because of their critical thinking, like lawyers and journalists.

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Gerard Ritsema van Eck is an associate professor in the IT Law Section of the University of Groningen. His research focuses on issues of surveillance, privacy and data protection. He is currently involved in a multidisciplinary project on the topic of smart mobility and has a keen interest in all connections between law and data.

Adi Stoykova is an associate professor of Technology Law at the University of Groningen. She holds a double PhD degree in law and information security. Her research focuses on the regulation of cybercrime and human rights issues related to new technology for criminal investigation, digital evidence and police use of artificial intelligence systems.

IMDb

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