Following Snowden, German uncertainty about monitoring
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-01-2017-0006 |
Pages | 232-246 |
Date | 14 August 2017 |
Published date | 14 August 2017 |
Author | Andrew A. Adams,Sarah Hosell,Kiyoshi Murata |
Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information & communications technology |
Following Snowden, German
uncertainty about monitoring
Andrew A. Adams
Centre for Business Information Ethics, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan
Sarah Hosell
HMKW University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany, and
Kiyoshi Murata
School of Commerce, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract
Purpose –As part of an international studyof knowledge of and attitudes to Snowden’s revelations about
the activities of the NationalSecurity Agency/Government CommunicationsHeadquarters, this paper aims to
deal with Germany, taking its socio-cultural and political environment surrounding privacy and state
surveillanceinto account.
Design/methodology/approach –A questionnaire was answered by76 German University students.
The quantitative responsesto the survey were statistically analysed as well as qualitativeconsiderations of
free text answers.
Findings –Snowden’s revelationshave had an important influence over German students’attitudestoward
privacy andstate surveillance, and show concerns over the privacyrisks associated with Internet activity.
Practical implications –The study resultsimply a need to build a collective awarenessof the importance
of the right to privacyand its responsibilities, the available technologicaloptions for individuals to exert their
own privacy and security and the democratic means to agree and enforce appropriate legal restrictions on
state surveillance.
Social implications –Young Germans support Snowden’sactions and would be more willing to emulate
him in Germany thanin the USA. While many believe that people must give up some privacy and freedomfor
security,few seem to believe that currentUS or German approachesare valid and justified.
Originality/value –This study is the first attempt to investigate the social impact of Snowden’s
revelations on German students’attitudes toward privacy and state surveillance as part of cross-cultural
analysesbetween eight countries.
Keywords Germany, Surveillance, Privacy, Social impact, Edward Snowden
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In June 2013, The Guardian in the UK and The Washington Post in the USA began
publishing internal electronic documents from the US’signals intelligence (SIGINT)
organisation the National Security Agency (NSA), provided to them by Edward Snowden
who had obtained the documents whileemployed as a systems administrator at the NSA for
contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.As they have done previously, the NSA and other parts of
the US Government generally will not confirm or deny the validity of the documents;
however, on 21 June 2013, theUS Department of Justice charged Snowden with violating the
Espionage Act. The activitiesdetailed in the documents included activity undertaken by the
NSA and its main SIGINT partner the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters
(GCHQ), and with the SIGINT agencies of three former British colonies (Canada, Australia
JICES
15,3
232
Received 24 January 2017
Revised 7 April 2017
Accepted 17 April 2017
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.15 No. 3, 2017
pp. 232-246
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-01-2017-0006
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