Communication and Data Protection in the light of Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism

Absztrakt (kivonat)

Communication and Data Protection in the Light of Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism is a literature review thesis that addresses one of the most pressing issues of the twenty-first century. People are becoming increasingly vulnerable to digital hazards as the world becomes more digital, which can increase risks and make them victims of monitoring and data exploitation by corporations whose business model is dependent on users' data. The thesis centred around two main research questions; first, if there is an ethical way to connect surveillance and data protection. Second, if it is possible to limit the influence of tech giants on societal events and society. By providing a holistic overview of the research area of big data, new and digital literacies and surveillance, the literature review thesis enriched with case studies aims to uncover the controversial nature of surveillance and a potential connection between surveillance and data protection. The chapter called The phenomenon of surveillance serves as the core of the research as it features not just the classic theories around surveillance, such as the Panopticon theory of Bentham and Foucault, but it also features the new and digital forms of surveillance, with a unique eye on Zuboff's theory on surveillance capitalism. Furthermore, the case studies aim to serve as support materials that showcase the form of surveillance introduced in the chapter before. To examine the influence of tech giants on society and societal events, the thesis also includes a crisis management and communication chapter that features how communication can be leveraged into crisis communication plans. Additionally, the case study section of the chapter features how tech companies such as Google, Apple and Telegram could impact an ongoing crisis in societies. All in all, as the conceptualization of surveillance capitalism is considered a relatively new field in the research of surveillance, a limited number of sources could be found that are directly connected to the phenomenon of surveillance capitalism. To investigate the deeper connections between surveillance and data protection regulation, further research would be needed both in English and Hungarian.