Wanting it all – public perceptions of the effectiveness, cost, and privacy of surveillance technology
| Date | 05 August 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-11-2018-0087 |
| Pages | 10-27 |
| Published date | 05 August 2019 |
| Author | Michelle Cayford,Wolter Pieters,P.H.A.J.M van Gelder |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Wanting it all –public perceptions
of the effectiveness, cost, and
privacy of surveillance technology
Michelle Cayford,Wolter Pieters and P.H.A.J.M van Gelder
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose –This study aimsto explore how the public perceives the effectivenessof surveillance technology,
and how people’s views on privacy and their views on effectiveness are related. Likewise, it looks at the
relationbetween perceptions of effectiveness and opinions on the acceptablecost of surveillance technology.
Design/methodology/approach –For this study, surveys of Dutch students and their parents were
conductedover three consecutive years.
Findings –A key finding of this paperis that the public does not engage in a trade-off neither with regardto
privacy-effectiveness(exchanging more effectiveness for less privacy andvice versa) nor with effectiveness-
cost, but rather expects all three elements to be achieved simultaneously. This paper also found that the
correlationbetween perceived effectiveness andperceived privacy was stronger for parentsthan for students.
Research limitations/implications –Participants for thisstudy were exclusively in The Netherlands.
Survey questions on the effectivenessof surveillance technology focused on one type of technology, and on
privatemobile device use in two scenarios.
Social implications –The public’s perceptionsof the effectiveness of surveillance technology potentially
influenceits acceptance of the technology, which, in turn, can affect the legitimacy and use of the technology.
Originality/value –Within the much-discussedprivacy-security debate lies a less-heard debate–that of
the effectiveness of the surveillancetechnology in question. The public is one actor in this debate. This study
examinesthe public’s perceptions of this less-heard debate.
Keywords Cost, Surveillance, Privacy, Effectiveness, Public views, Surveillance technology
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Amidst the anguish and anger following terrorist attacks such as 9/11 and Charlie Hebdo,
erupt calls for more government action to prevent such events. This, in turn, leads to
increased surveillance by intelligence agencies. Months or years later, leaked classified
documents, such as in the Snowden case, result in privacy advocates decrying the
government’s surveillance actions as a violation of privacy. A debate ensues in which
security is pitted against privacy. Such is the current discussion on government
surveillance, whichturns around privacy versus security.
The public is one actor in this debate. On both sides, other actors claim to act in the
public’s interest, eitheraccusing the government of privacy rights’violation and demanding
a cessation of activities or defending these surveillance programs as necessary to keep
citizens secure against current threats. Both sides seek to influence whether the public
accepts these surveillance programs, basing their arguments in the context of the privacy
versus security trade-off.
Within the privacy-securitydebate, there is a less-heard debate –that of the effectiveness
of the surveillance programs in question. Is the surveillance technology effective in
accomplishing a given security goal? Different actors hold different views, and how to
JICES
18,1
10
Received16 November 2018
Revised10 April 2019
Accepted20 May 2019
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.18 No. 1, 2020
pp. 10-27
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-11-2018-0087
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1477-996X.htm
evaluate effectiveness is in itself a complex question (Cayford and Pieters, 2018). The
public’s perception of effectiveness has significant social implications, as this potentially
plays a role in its acceptance ofthe technology; and judgments on acceptability may depend
on judgments of effectiveness. This, in turn, could influence the legitimacy and continued
use of such technology. In democraticsocieties, the public’s view matters. Its views influence
policy and the making of law.
This study explores how the public perceives the effectiveness of surveillance
technology, and how people’s views on privacyand their views on effectiveness are related.
Likewise, is there a relationbetween perceptions of effectiveness and opinions on acceptable
cost of surveillance technology? This paperanalyzes the results of surveys completed by a
group of Dutch undergraduate students and their parents. It is one of only two studies
investigating viewsof the Dutch public in relation to surveillance, and the first knownstudy
to analyze public views regarding effectiveness and the correlations between effectiveness,
privacy and cost. Findings show some significant differences between the parent and
student generations, as well as correlations that suggest that the public does not engage in
the trade-offs imbedded in the privacy-security debate. Rather, the public wants it all –
effectiveness and privacyat a reasonable cost, all delivered simultaneously.
The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 presents related work, followed by
methodology in Section 3. The study’s results are then given accompanied by analysis in
Section 4, followed by a discussion of the results in Section 5, and finally, conclusions in
Section 6.
2. Related work
The question of the effectiveness of surveillance technology is closely linked to the debate
over the values of security and privacy. On one side of this debateare those who argue that
access to telecommunications is necessary for stopping organized crime and terrorism. On
the other side of the debate are those who argue for the right to privacy. The privacy-
security debate is expansive, and the literaturereflects this, spanning discussions of privacy
and security and technology (Friedewald and Pohoryles, 2013; Schneier, 2013), privacy and
data retention law (Tene, 2011; Mitrou, 2007),the question of balance that should be struck
between the two (Guerrier, 2016;Stalla-Bourdillon et al.,2014), whether there is or should be
a trade-off between the two (Verfaillie and van den Herrewegen, 2013; van Leishout et al.,
2013), ethics (Stahl, 2007;Landau, 2014), dealing with cryptology (Diffie and Landau,2007)
and the balance between liberty and security with regard to law (De Hert, 2005;Poullet,
2004).
This debate enters the political sphere as countries decide, which balance to strike and
accordingly adopt laws that restrict or allow, as the case may be, intelligence agencies’
access to communications (Mansfield-Devine, 2015). This is where the people come in, in
democratic societies the people’s view of intelligence agencies and the surveillance
technology they use affects this debate. If the public perceives surveillance technologies as
effective and the associated agencies as trustworthy, negative impacts on privacy are more
likely to be accepted.
Public perception is a topic in and of itself, which includes actual versus perceived
effectiveness and influences on perceptions such as politics, the media (Altheide, 2006),
culture, place and situations (Orru, 2013). Here, the goal is neither to focus on these
influences nor to enter into a discussion of perceivedversus actual effectiveness. Rather, it is
to continue previous research of investigatingdifferent stakeholders’views of effectiveness.
All stakeholders perceive effectiveness in some way, and these various views influence the
debate around theuse of surveillance technology.
Privacy of
surveillance
technology
11
To continue reading
Request your trial