Abstract
This article discusses how Shosana Zuboff’s critical theory of surveillance capitalism may help to understand and underpin responsible practice and innovation in mobile journalism. Zuboff conceptualizes surveillance capitalism as a new economic logic 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 framework of responsible research and innovation is promoted as an approach and a meta-concept that should inform practice and policy for research and innovation to align with societal values and democratic principles. Within this approach, ICT is framed as a risk technology. As innovation in mobile journalism is inextricably tied to the technologies and infrastructure of smartphones and social media platforms, the apparent question would be how we can envision responsible innovation in this area. Zuboff provides a critical perspective to study how this architecture of surveillance impedes the practice of mobile journalism. While the wide adoption of smartphones as a key tool for both producing and consuming news has great potential for innovation, it can also feed behavioral data into the supply chain of surveillance capitalism. We discuss how potentially harmful implications can be met on an individual and organizational level to contribute to a more responsible adoption of mobile technologies in journalism.
Highlights
Mojo is agile, it is affordable, it keeps a low profile, it is inspiring journalists around the globe to think outside the box
We first introduce Zuboff’s theory on surveillance capitalism, followed by a discussion on mobile journalism from the perspective of Zuboff’s theory, where we identify challenges of surveillance capitalism for journalistic practice and innovation
To address how innovation and practice in mobile journalism can be envisioned in a responsible manner, we find the European framework of Research and Innovation (RRI) to be a promising approach
Summary
It is affordable, it keeps a low profile, it is inspiring journalists around the globe to think outside the box. It is the right tool to defend journalism in a world that finds itself in a prolonged state of emergency and will need to invent itself newly With these words, the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation (2020) introduced what they labeled the world’s first virtual conference on mobile journalism. Zuboff’s theory can serve as a lens through which one can understand the societal implications of an emerging economic logic based on advanced algorithms and the extensive exploitation of behavioral data. It does not address, in a systematic manner, how these challenges can be resolved. We introduce the RRI approach, followed by outlining major implications for mobile journalism on an individual and organizational level and how they might be responsibly approached
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