Surveillance (or) is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people for the purpose of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting them. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment (such as CCTV cameras), or interception of electronically transmitted information (such as Internet traffic or phone calls); and it can include simple, no- or relatively low-technology methods such as human intelligence agents and postal interception. The word comes from a French phrase for "watching over" (sur means "from above" and veiller means "to watch"), and is in contrast to more recent developments such as sousveillance.