"I'm a Huge Believer in the Rule of Law. But...": Encryption, Privacy, Risk

• In Event: 262 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02.

Abstract

Sociological studies of surveillance have tended to focus on technologies that invade privacy, whether they are in
the form of algorithms, CCTV, biometrics, or mass data collection programs such as NSA's PRISM. These studies
often entail discussions about the erosion or invasion of privacy brought about by the use of these technologies.
However, another aspect of the construction of surveillance systems has remained undertheorized: the manipulation
of privacy precaution measures available to citizens. What privacy precautions are available, and which are
reasonable to use, can influence not only expectations of privacy but moral values associated with (1) having "too little"
or "too much" privacy and (2) digital communications systems that are not built according to carceral logics. This study suggests that understanding privacy and data retention policies as being governed by risk discourses can contribute to understandings of the social construction of privacy and the enrollment of businesses in the carceral state. This project uses a case study of encryption regulation in the U.S. to ask: how is privacy constructed through moral regulation processes in the context of risk discourses? How do state actors legitimate attempts to regulate privacy precautions, and how is privacy being constructed as a social problem via this legitimation process?

Author

• Karina Alexis Rider