The portable panopticon: morality and mobile technologies
| Date | 16 August 2011 |
| Pages | 206-216 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14779961111167676 |
| Published date | 16 August 2011 |
| Author | Martin De Saulles,David S. Horner |
The portable panopticon:
morality and mobile technologies
Martin De Saulles and David S. Horner
School of Computing, Mathematical and Information Sciences,
University of Brighton, Brighton, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical issues arising from the mass deployment
and take-up of mobile technologies.
Design/methodology/approach – The ethical dimensions of mobile technologies and theiruse
among the general population are considered within a conceptual framework drawing on JamesMoor’s
belief in a need for “better ethics” for emerging technologies and Michel Foucault’s development of
Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon as a tool of surveillance.
Findings – It is found that the mass deployment and use of mobile technologies amongst the general
population raise some interesting questions about the changing nature of surveillance and the ethical
issues that come out of this.
Originality/value – The paper offers an original perspective on the ethical issues arising from new
mobile technologies and surveillance by inverting the established top-down notion of technology and
control derived from Foucault.
Keywords CCTV, Civil and political rights, Communication technologies,Ethics, Mobile computing,
Web 2.0
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Moor (2008, p. 26) has argued that we need “better ethics” for emerging technologies.
What he means by “better ethics” is: first, that ethical analysis of technologies
should not be a post hoc activity but rather something dynamic which is done in tandem
or anticipation; second, that the ethical response to emerging technologies and the
formation of appropriate technologies requires collaboration between ethicists,
technologists, policy makers and so on; third, more sophisticated ethical analysis will
be required. Moor argues that emerging technologies, whilst the product of new
technological paradigms, need to be matched by analyses forming new ethical
paradigms. Broadly, we need frameworks to identify radical emerging information and
communication technologies and appropriate frameworks for identifying and analysing
new moral issues (Harris et al., 2008, p. 1).
In this paper, we argue that the development and widespread use of
mobile technologies constitute if not a revolution then a sub-revolution that may have
widespread social and ethical impacts. We argue that in part these impacts may be
understood within the framework of panopticism, surveillance and social control.
Mobile technologies give a new twist to the “panoptic principle” which we term
“the portable panopticon”. We define mobile technologies as the set of hardware,
software, and network infrastructure that greatly extend the conventional functionality
of the mobile phone. Current and emerging applications include video, photography,
high-speed internet access, social networking, and GPS location services. We aim to
present the emergence of the portable panopticon within the framework of Moor’s
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm
JICES
9,3
206
Received 6 January 2011
Accepted 9 June 2011
Journal of Information,
Communication & Ethics in Society
Vol. 9 No. 3, 2011
pp. 206-216
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/14779961111167676
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