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Surveillance and prejudice: How is bias in digital surveillance discussed in the public discourse, in the context of select English speaking newspapers after Snowden’s leaks from 2013 to the current discussion in 2023?

Jentzsch, S.M. (2023) Surveillance and prejudice: How is bias in digital surveillance discussed in the public discourse, in the context of select English speaking newspapers after Snowden’s leaks from 2013 to the current discussion in 2023?

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Abstract:This thesis focuses on the construction of biases in digital surveillance through a Critical Discourse Analysis. Surveillance activities are confined to a narrow set of elite actors, utilizing surveillance in order to oppress the surveyed. In recent years these activities are increasingly done via digital means, e.g. algorithms or AI tools. Following researchers like Shin et al. (2022), these tools inherently and unavoidably contain biases. This research focuses on how surveillance is constructed and portrayed in the media discourse, what kind of biases are attributed to surveillance activity, and how these biases are being used to construct and refine hegemonic structures. To do this, 190 newspaper articles and opinion pieces of English-speaking newspapers over a period of 10 years are analyzed. The analysis shows that surveillance is perceived exclusively digital in the discourse. Biases are also linked to technology and algorithms in particular. They are constructed in terms of mostly racism and used to define the hegemonic surveyor, excluding certain groups of people based on their ethnicity.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:70 social sciences in general
Programme:Management Society and Technology BSc (56654)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/96036
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