Abstract
This study explores the formation of privacy as a value for different stakeholders in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Building on fieldwork in the two states, the study represents one of the few attempts to map out the interpretations and practices of privacy in Central Asia. The rapid digitalization processes unfolding in these two countries, which have similar cultural and historical roots, provide an illustrative setting of how privacy can be scrutinized in dissimilar political contexts, how its value is defined by the policies of the past, and what the apparent and dormant risks for society are.
Highlights
The penetration and diffusion of the Internet and digital technologies have aroused policy and scholarly discussions over the potential impact that these technologies can have in the context of different political systems
This study explores the formation of privacy as a value for different stakeholders in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
The rapid digitalization processes unfolding in these two countries, which have similar cultural and historical roots, provide an illustrative setting of how privacy can be scrutinized in dissimilar political contexts, how its value is defined by the policies of the past, and what the apparent and dormant risks for society are
Summary
The penetration and diffusion of the Internet and digital technologies have aroused policy and scholarly discussions over the potential impact that these technologies can have in the context of different political systems. Hopes for new media's ability to transform oppressive regimes and lead to democratization have faded as both authoritarian and democratic states have employed ubiquitous and pervasive surveillance, reconfiguring the concept of privacy (Ambay et al, 2019; Diamond, 2019; Shahbaz, 2018). Being a concept-in-the-making, privacy is actively molded in policy "kitchens" by various actors across political contexts. While the European Union has been vocal in its aspirations to develop the "golden standard" of privacy through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) China has aspired to be an alternative trendsetter for a range of countries through its successful introduction of the social credit system, which is based on ubiquitous surveillance and the intrusion of its citizens' privacy (Wong & Dobson, 2019)
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