Mobile Journalists as Traceable Data Objects: Surveillance Capitalism and Responsible Innovation in Mobile Journalism

Media and Communication

article

Anja Salzmann¹  Frode Guribye¹  Astrid Gynnild¹ 

[1] Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen

关键词: innovation;    journalism;    mobile journalism;    mobile technology;    responsible innovation;    responsible research;    risk technology;    surveillance capitalism;    Zuboff;   

DOI  :  10.17645/mac.v9i2.3804

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Cogitatio Press

【 摘 要 】

This article discusses how Shosana Zuboff’s critical theory of surveillance capitalism may help to understand and underpinresponsible practice and innovation in mobile journalism. Zuboff conceptualizes surveillance capitalism as a new economiclogic made possible by ICT and its architecture for extracting and trading data products of user behavior and preferences.Surveillance is, through these new technologies, built into the fabric of our economic system and, according to Zuboff,appears as deeply anti-democratic and a threat to human sovereignty, dignity, and autonomy. In Europe, the frameworkof responsible research and innovation is promoted as an approach and a meta-concept that should inform practice andpolicy for research and innovation to align with societal values and democratic principles. Within this approach, ICT isframed as a risk technology. As innovation in mobile journalism is inextricably tied to the technologies and infrastructureof smartphones and social media platforms, the apparent question would be how we can envision responsible innovationin this area. Zuboff provides a critical perspective to study how this architecture of surveillance impedes the practice ofmobile journalism. While the wide adoption of smartphones as a key tool for both producing and consuming news hasgreat potential for innovation, it can also feed behavioral data into the supply chain of surveillance capitalism. We discusshow potentially harmful implications can be met on an individual and organizational level to contribute to a more responsible adoption of mobile technologies in journalism.

【 授权许可】

CC BY