International Journal of Communication Publishes Special Section Digital Citizenship and Surveillance Society

The revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden have transformed our understanding of digital communication. Providing unprecedented insights into Internet andtelecommunications surveillance, they pointed us to the ways in which the ‘datafication’ of increasing aspects of our lives have become central to governance and control.  What, then, are the implications of ubiquitous surveillance for digital citizenship?  How should we understand the actions of citizens in a monitored and datafied environment?  In what ways do power relations between citizens and the state shift ― and with what avenues for intervention?

Guest-edited by Arne Hintz, Lina Dencik, Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Michael Rogers and Ian Brown, this Special Section on Digital Citizenship and Surveillance Society discusses the state of digital citizenship in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, based on findings from a two-year UK-based research project. A first group of contributors present project results on the implications of the Snowden leaks for journalism, public knowledge, possibilities for dissent, technological infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks. A second group ― renowned scholars from the fields of surveillance, media and journalism studies, as well as representatives of civil society organizations ― situate these findings in current developments in datafied societies. Together, the articles present a comprehensive analysis of the consequences of the Snowden leaks, and they re-think digital citizenship in a post-Snowden world.

We invite you to read these articles that published in the International Journal of Communication on February 15, 2017.  Please Ctrl+Click on the article titles below for direct link to the papers of interest.  We look forward to your feedback!

Digital Citizenship and Surveillance Society – Editorial Introduction
Arne Hintz, Lina Dencik, Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

The Normalization of Surveillance and the Invisibility of Digital Citizenship: Media Debates After the Snowden Revelations
Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Lucy Bennett, Gregory Taylor

The Advent of Surveillance Realism: Public Opinion and Activist Responses to the Snowden Leaks
Lina Dencik, Jonathan Cable

Enabling Digital Citizenship? The Reshaping of Surveillance Policy After Snowden
Arne Hintz, Ian Brown

The Snowden Disclosures, Technical Standards and the Making of Surveillance Infrastructures
Michael Rogers, Grace Eden

Surveillance Culture, Ethics and Digital Citizenship
David Lyon

Citizen Snowden
Engin Isin, Evelyn Ruppert

The Snowden Revelations and the Networked Fourth Estate
Adrienne Russell, Silvio Waisbord

To Pre-Empt a Thief
Mark Andrejevic

What Changed After Snowden? A U.S. Perspective ― Commentary
Ben Wizner

Compromising Over Technology, Security, and Privacy ― Commentary
Gus Hosein