This paper explores the tension between privacy and surveillance capitalism and seeks to give explanations why privacy is not effective in limiting the influence of surveillance capitalism on personal autonomy and democracy. The methodology involves a deconstructive reading of the theories of privacy and surveillance capitalism. The analysis finds that there are (I) lacking means to control one’s subjection to data extraction that lead to a loss of privacy and autonomy, (II) social, psychological, or cultural influences determine the conception of privacy, (III) privacy management is individualistic and needs transparency of data-processing to function, and (IV) what constitutes a private situation is dependent on existing norms. The analysis further establishes that the foundation of democracy is at risk when privacy, and as such personal autonomy, are threatened. The analysis utilizes, among others, ideas of Marx and Foucault to explain the weakness of privacy. The findings suggest that the threat posed by surveillance capitalism towards autonomy and democracy should be framed as problem of liberty instead of privacy.

In this paper, I look at the history of the internet and online advertising. The internet is inextricably linked to capitalism and is fueled by advertising. As a result, companies like Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon collect data in large volumes to improve targeted advertising. An investigation of new power structures has emerged with the internet and how they dominate its and our future. My creativity lies between art and technology. By merging new technologies like Artificial Intelligence with humor and graphic design, I try to shine a light on the subject.

A gap, known as the privacy paradox, often exists between peoples' privacy concerns and the actions they take to protect their privacy. This thesis investigates how a small sample of undergraduate students perceive their online privacy, the measures they take to protect their online privacy, and the reasons for their action/inaction. In so doing, it seeks to ascertain whether the findings of Hinds et al.'s (2020) regarding Facebook users' perceptions of online privacy issues are replicable among a sample of undergraduate students who are regular users of Instagram. Interviews with 20 undergraduate students were conducted to gather information about their online privacy concerns, their attitudes toward social media platforms collecting their information, and the privacy protection strategies they employ. The findings suggest that in enacting protection strategies, the participants delineate between both social and institutional conceptions of privacy, and the notion of privacy as a right requiring protecting versus viewing privacy as a negotiable commodity. This, in turn, suggests a possible need to re-consider how privacy-related education is approached as well as privacy policy.

That data is being collected surely, does not come as a surprise to users. Although, the question that should be asked today goes more in the lines of, do we know to what extent? Do we need to be aware? Is it bad, is it good? Big data collection is a worm hole of endless discussion and general complexity but is at the same time essential to understand to some degree. This study tries to examine how Meta, as one of the biggest companies today, pushes material in their newsflow in relation to how audiences perceive data collection as a phenomenon. Through theoretical foundation and previous research it is argued how negligence and unawareness can present itself unhealthy in the dynamic of how data is collected. This is illustrated through qualitative methods using thematic analysis by interviews and qualitative analysis of text. Results came to show that there is an interesting point to make in the data dynamic where negligence and unawareness might be a fact.

In a time when internet connection is a central part of our everyday lives and wherewe constantly communicate through digital aids, a possible threat has arisen. Surveillance by commercial companies tracks most of what we do on their websites and then stores that data so that, for example, in the future companies can market specific goods that the user has previously looked at. The data collected by a specific supplier is not always saved for that specific company’s use only. The data is also used as a commodity between different online suppliers, the trade itself turns over billions of Swedish kronor every year. The purpose of this study is to examine young adults aged 20-30 (also called digital natives) knowledge, opinions, and thoughts regarding surveillance on the internet for commercial purposes. The study wants to find out what knowledge they say they have, what opinions they have and whether they adapt to the phenomenon by, for example, using VPN services or the like. Previous research in the field has shown that young people do not possess a deep knowledge of the subject and that they rarely adapt to any great extent to the phenomenon. The theoretical framework addresses both the user's and the supplier's perspective. The framework introduces surveillance and integrity from a theoretical perspective, but also addresses the power the supplier has and the financial conditions for the supplier. The results of the study show that, like previous studies in the same field, digital natives do not possess a deep knowledge of the subject and that they rarely adapt. Opinions differ however, where some say they do not care, and some believe that the surveillance has gone too far. In the ensuing discussion, we turn back and forth on the participants' reasoning and try to create a comprehensive picture of why the participants think the way they do.

The theme of this diploma theses is surveillance capitalism. Its aim is to provide comprehensive insight into the key aspects of this phenomenon that has a significant impact on the global economy and society as a whole. The first part of the thesis deals with the topic of information society and its transformational effect on the economical sphere and surveillance system. It reveals some of the key issues following this new state of society and postmodern surveillance practices as well. The second part of the thesis aims to define what is meant by surveillance capitalism, to uncover the principles and the economic imperatives that dominate various stages of the development and finally to outline the threats and ethical problems this new logic of assimilation has brought in.

Denna uppsats undersöker media-övervakningens påverkan på äldre och yngre generationer på sociala medier genom en kvalitativ undersökning. Studien syftar till att avslöja generationsskillnader i medvetenhet och beteende när det gäller mediaövervakning. Bakgrunden belyser de växande farhågorna kring mediaövervakning i den digitala eran, särskilt på sociala medieplattformar. Genom att fokusera på äldre och yngre generationer utforskar studien hur deras erfarenheter, attityder och kunskap formar deras medvetenhet och beteenden i relation till mediaövervakning. Genom att använda kvalitativa forskningsmetoder (intervjustudie), undersöker studien deltagarnas perspektiv och erfarenheter. Analysen av teman och mönster som framkommer i intervjuerna ger värdefulla insikter i de olika sätt på vilka äldre och yngre generationer uppfattar och reagerar på mediaövervakning på sociala medier. Det är viktigt att erkänna begränsningarna i denna studie, såsom det specifika fokuset på två generationer och användningen av kvalitativ data. Därför kan resultaten inte generaliseras till hela populationen, men det erbjuder värdefulla insikter i den specifika kontexten av mediaövervakning och generationers dynamik. De två teoretiska utgångspunkterna som används är användar-teorin från Balnaves et al. (2009) och övervaknings-kapitalismen som beskrivs av Zuboff (2019). Resultaten och slutsatserna från studien bidrar till en djupare förståelse för hur mediaövervakning påverkar äldre och yngre generationer på sociala medier. Dessutom kan resultaten informera utvecklingen av strategier för att öka medvetenheten, stärka användarna och skydda integriteten i mediaövervakningens sammanhang. / This thesis examines the impact of media surveillance on older and younger generations on social media through a qualitative investigation. The study aims to uncover generational differences in awareness and behavior regarding media surveillance. The background highlights the growing concerns surrounding media surveillance in the digital age, particularly on social media platforms. By focusing on older and younger generations, the study explores how their experiences, attitudes, and knowledge shape their awareness and behaviors in relation to media surveillance. Using qualitative research methods, including interviews, the study delves into the perspectives and experiences of the participants. The analysis of themes and patterns that emerge from the interviews provides valuable insights into the differing ways in which older and younger generations perceive and respond to media surveillance on social media. It is important to acknowledge the limitations of this study, such as the specific focus on two generations and the reliance on qualitative data. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to the entire population, but they offer valuable insights into the specific context of media surveillance and generational dynamics. The two theories used in this study are uses and gratification theory from Balnaves et al. (2009) and the theory about surveillance capitalism by Zuboff (2019). The results and conclusions of the study contribute to a deeper understanding of how media surveillance impacts older and younger generations on social media. Furthermore, the findings can inform the development of strategies to enhance awareness, empower users, and protect privacy in the context of media surveillance.

[pt] Nessa tese são investigadas as transformações no ambiente digital circunscritas às interseções entre as novas práticas do marketing e a proteção do consumidor-titular de dados pessoais. O fio condutor é a consolidação da informação como um importante ativo na sociedade de consumo contemporânea. A partir da perspectiva do capitalismo de vigilância, os principais fenômenos que contribuem para o estabelecimento de uma estrutura de estímulos e controles que permeiam, de maneira imperceptível aos olhos do consumidor, a sua jornada de consumo, são analisados. Verifica-se que a publicidade digital, em especial a chamada publicidade comportamental direcionada conforme o perfil do consumidor, apesar de alvo de críticas da doutrina e de interesse por parte da legislação, é apenas a parte visível de uma arquitetura de escolhas permeada por dark patterns que atrapalham a proteção do consumidor em ambiente digital. Nesse cenário, a pesquisa investiga a suficiência dos mecanismos de proteção de dados pessoais, bem como a existência de uma nova e universal vulnerabilidade do consumidor. Trata-se da vulnerabilidade digital, que dá origem a um estado, também universal, de hipossuficiência do consumidor diante das práticas comerciais em ambiente digital. / [en] In this thesis examines the transformations in the digital environment circumscribed to the intersections between new marketing practices and the protection of the consumer-data subjects. The main drive is the strengthening of information as an important asset in contemporary consumer society. From the perspective of surveillance capitalism, it analyzes the central phenomena that contributes to the establishment of a structure of stimuli and controls that permeate, imperceptibly to the consumer s eyes, his journey. It is verified that digital advertising, especially the so-called behavioral advertising, directed according to the consumer s profile, despite being target of criticism by the doctrine and of interest by the legislation, is only the visible part of an architecture of choices permeated by dark patterns that hinder consumer protection in the digital environment. In this scenario, the research investigates the sufficiency of personal data protection mechanisms, as well as the existence of a new and universal consumer vulnerability. Which is the digital vulnerability that gives rise as well to a universal state of consumer hyposufficiency before commercial practices in the digital environment.

I takt med en tilltagande användning av internet och teknologiska enheter har tillgången till användargenererad data om individer ökat. Denna personliga data kan, genom fenomen som Big Data, vidare exploateras av företag som grund för att utforma och anpassa marknadsföring i linje med konsumenters individuella preferensmönster. Detta utgör delar inom digital direktmarknadsföring. Emellertid existerar det en problematik med specifikt utformad direktmarknadsföring i digital miljö. Konsumenter som mottager denna typ av marknadsföring har en tendens till att uppleva att företagen kommer för nära inpå privatlivet. Tidigare studier visar att företag kan få tillgång till för känslig information om konsumenter och deras aktiviteter i vardagen. I många fall sker detta utan att konsumenten är medveten om hur denna information har erhållits och en konsekvens av detta är att den personliga integriteten kan bli föremål för intrång. Uppsatsens syfte tar grund i en strävan efter att undersöka hur konsumenter uppfattar den personliga integriteten vid exponering mot individuellt riktad digital marknadsföring. Mer specifikt utforskas det eventuella sambandet mellan personlig integritet och digital direktmarknadsföring. Den teoretiska referensramen behandlar teorier och begrepp som är relevanta för få en övergripande förståelse kring ämnet. Under avsnittet presenteras bland annat Westins teori om den personliga integriteten och dess olika tillstånd. Därtill behandlas även beskrivningar av begrepp såsom digital direktmarknadsföring, Big data, Surveillance Capitalism och dataskyddsförordningen (GDPR). Här beaktas variablerna känslighet på direktmarknadsföring, omfattning av direktmarknadsföring, ålder, utbildningsnivå, kön samt kontrollvariabelninternetanvändning. Utifrån dessa variabler samt tidigare forskning har fem hypoteser formulerats. Den empiriska undersökningen baserades på en tvärsnittsstudie av deduktiv karaktär där det genomfördes en digital enkätundersökning. Totalt deltog 203 respondenter i denna studie. Enkäten innefattade frågor som baserades på uppsatsens variabler. För att se om det går att finna stöd eller inte för dessa hypoteser används en multivariat regressionsanalys. Undersökningens resultat visar att uppfattningen av den personliga integriteten påverkas av direktmarknadsföring. Det kan utläsas att både känsligheten och omfattningen på direktmarknadsföringen har en jämnstark och statistiskt signifikant effekt på uppfattningen av den personliga integriteten. Därtill indikeras det även att ålder är en variabel som har en effekt på hur den personliga integriteten påverkas, där äldre individer tenderar att vara mer oroade över den personliga integriteten än vad yngre individer är. Utifrån denna undersökning går det vidare att uttyda att det föreligger tendenser till intrång på den personliga integriteten i den digitala miljön vid exponering mot digital direktmarknadsföring. / Given the increased availability of internet and technological devices, the access to user-generated data has increased. This personal data is made accessible to companies and through phenomena such as Big Data it can be exploited and adapted to lay the foundation for marketing aimed directly at individual consumers. This is also known as direct marketing. However, it seems as if there exists a tendency for digital direct marketing to result in companies entering the individual’s personal space and as a consequence – the personal integrity is jeopardized. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the way consumers on the Swedish retail market perceive the personal integrity when being exposed to digital direct marketing. The study is of cross-sectional deductive character and it investigates the possible relationship between personal integrity and digital direct marketing. This is done through a digital survey with questions based on five hypotheses which in turn reflect the following variables that have been defined; Sensibility to direct marketing,Extent of direct marketing, Age, Level of education, and Gender. In addition to this, the control variable Internet-usage is added. The hypotheses are then tested in a multiple regression analysis. From the discussion and conclusion of this thesis the results show that consumers experience that the personal integrity is affected by digital direct marketing. The findings indicate further that both sensibility to direct marketing, the extent of direct marking, and age have a statistically significant effect on the individual’s perception of the personal integrity in this context. Given the result from the survey, the regression analysis and its application on the hypotheses, this study finds implications for violation of the consumer’s personal integrity.

[pt] Em razão do desenvolvimento tecnológico das últimas décadas, a sociedade contemporânea passou por profundas mudanças que deram origem, segundo Shoshana Zuboff, ao Capitalismo de vigilância. Diante deste cenário, o presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar os reflexos desse fenômeno no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro que justificaram a promulgação da Emenda Constitucional 115/22 e da Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados, constituindo um modelo regulatório híbrido, fortemente baseado em princípios, no qual, além de estabelecer obrigações para os agentes de tratamento, cria um ambiente de incentivo à adoção de boas práticas e de governança. Para tanto, será analisado como o compliance de dados pode ser um eficiente instrumento para promover, na prática, a adoção dos princípios da LGPD e da regulação já existente da ANPD em prol uma cultura de proteção de dados no Brasil. / [en] The technological development of recent decades, contemporary society has faced profound changes that have given rise, according to Shoshana Zuboff, to Surveillance Capitalism. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the impacts of surveillance capitalism in the brazilian legal system that justified the promulgation of Constitutional Amendment 115/22 and the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD), based on the strong principled on a hybrid regulatory model in which, in addition to establishing obligations for treatment agents, creates an environment that encourages the adoption of good practices and governance. This way, it will be analyzed how data compliance can be an efficient instrument to promote, in practice, the adoption of the LGPD principles and the ANPD regulation in a data protection culture in Brazil.