Does Karen Deserve Digital Privacy?
China is implementing a Social Credit System (SCS), a sophisticated use of data surveillance of 1.4 billion citizens, according to Liang, Fan et al who explain “The SCS aims to centralize data platforms into a big data–enabled surveillance infrastructure to manage, monitor, and predict the trustworthiness of citizens, firms, organizations, and governments in China. A punishment/reward system based on credit scores will determine whether citizens and organizations are able to access things like education, markets, and tax deductions” (2018, p. 415).
Many in the U.S. would object to a system like this and view it as a massive violation of privacy despite the fact that we have already become so dependent upon algorithms that “experts worry they can put too much control in the hands of corporations and governments”.
However, Kostka found most Chinese surveyed approve of the SCS “with 80% of respondents either somewhat approving or strongly approving SCSs. Only 19% of respondents perceive the SCS in value neutral terms (neither disapprove nor approve) while just 1% reported either strong or somewhat disapproval” (2019, p. 1573).
This may be in part because Chinese citizens have lived with less sophisticated forms of authoritative surveillance for years and it’s become a normal part of their daily living. Others appreciate that the system helps ensure citizens conform with culturally accepted behaviors. Journalists Christina Zhou and Bank Xiao explain one important aspect of the SCS is “the naming and shaming of untrustworthy individuals into doing the right thing” (2020).
While we may not like to think we are subject to such massive surveillance in the U.S., perhaps as individuals we have already implemented our own system of community surveillance — using our smartphones. Consider the example of our friend Karen. A quick Google search for Karen Videos returns 668,000,000 results, my favorite of which is a parody of Dolly Parton’s Jolene.
I realize that these videos typically capture people behaving badly — but who among us has not said something, or done something, especially in an angry, impatient moment — that we would prefer not be shown to the world, over and over again?
Is it acceptable to post a video of someone without their permission? Do we give up our right to privacy when we go out in public? Does the possibility that anyone can tape anything we do, at any moment in time, and post it for the world to see — does that act as our own surveillance system, shaming us into doing the right thing?
Even if we don’t identify someone by name in a video, it’s not very difficult for those facts to come out. Internet Society explains that “Internet search tools can recognize images, faces, sound, voice, and movement, making it easy to track devices and individuals online over time and across locations”.
The implications can extend beyond the individual being filmed and also have a negative impact on the person who creates the post. In 2017, Emmit Walker, a music executive, was waiting to board a flight to the Dominican Republic when he suffered a racist encounter with a woman. He shared it on Facebook, intending for just a few friends to see it. But the post went viral, receiving over 383,000 likes and 253,000 shares in 2017 alone. While many would say he was fully justified, Emmit regretted shaming the woman so publicly, indicating “It brings me no joy waking up in paradise for my 37 bday and knowing that woman might be going through hell”.
Don’t we all deserve digital privacy, even Karen?
Additional References:
Kostka, G., 2019. China’s social credit systems and public opinion: Explaining high levels of approval. New Media & Society, 21(7), pp.1565–1593.
Liang, Fan et al., 2018. Constructing a Data-Driven Society: China’s Social Credit System as a State Surveillance Infrastructure. Policy and internet, 10(4), pp.415–453.
