Privacy Activism: (Anti-)Surveillance Discourse in Pandemic Days

Abstract

The current trend in which data-driven surveillance technologies are being appropriated by both commercial entities and state arms flies in the face of individuals’ “right to privacy.” This tendency gained momentum with the spread of coronavirus, when, in an effort to monitor the spread of the virus, governments authorized the deployment of surveillance tools and devices. In response to a growing body of research that overwhelmingly focuses on powerful entities that surveille individuals, this study emphasizes the agency of those being surveilled. It does so by analyzing the organic (anti-)surveillance discourse in Hebrew created and reflected on Facebook during COVID-19 days. The discourse is scrutinized through the analytical lens of 2 major approaches to privacy: the liberal-individualist and the social (Arendtian) frameworks. The analysis of the speech acts unveils people’s perceptions about privacy and how they interpreted the impacts of surveillance measures on both individuals and society.