Dencik, Lina and Cable, Jonathan. 2017. The advent of surveillance realism: public opinion and activist responses to the Snowden leaks. International Journal of Communication, 11, pp. 763-781. ISSN 1932-8036 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

The Snowden leaks provided unprecedented insights into the workings of state-corporate surveillance programs based on the interception and collection of online activity. They illustrated the extent of "bulk" data collection and the general and widespread monitoring of everyday communication platforms used by ordinary citizens. Yet public response in the United Kingdom and elsewhere has been considerably muted, and there has been little evidence of public outcry, with often conflicting and inconsistent opinions on the subject. Based on research carried out for the project Digital Citizenship and Surveillance Society, this article explores the nuances of public attitudes toward surveillance, including such attitudes among politically active citizens, through focus groups and interviews. We argue that the lack of transparency, knowledge, and control over what happens to personal data online has led to feelings of widespread resignation, not consent, to the status quo that speaks to a condition we identify as "surveillance realism." We understand this to entail a simultaneous unease among citizens with data collection and with the active normalization of surveillance that limits the possibilities of enacting modes of citizenship and of imagining alternatives.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Snowden, surveillance, activism, public opinion, surveillance realism
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
Dates:	Date Event 13 December 2016 Accepted 2017 Published
Item ID:	37302
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2024 11:26
Last Modified:	17 Jul 2024 12:43
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/37302

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