Government vs. Corporate Surveillance: Privacy Concerns in the Digital World

• In Event: 4232 - Critical Theory I: Dialectical Engagements

Abstract

The topic of privacy in the digital world is one example of how digital technology turns a potentially liberating realm into one that can further oppress humanity. Examining privacy invasions in the digital world can develop a better understanding of the dialectic of digital technology. Drawing on media coverage of two cases of perceived invasions - the NSA espionage programs that Edward Snowden brought to light and Verizon's use of a tracking code called a 'supercookie' - we find that state-led invasions were often viewed as existential threats, corporate invasions were viewed as fixable annoyances. We argue that these responses reflect neoliberal techniques of governance that normalize the commodification of privacy, and further the digital dialectic through this process of commodification.

Authors

• Brian T. Connor, University of Maryland, College Park

• Long Doan, University of Maryland