Panopticon.com: Online Surveillance and the Commodification of Privacy

• Published in: Journal of broadcasting & electronic media Vol. 46; no. 4; pp. 586 - 606
• Main Authors: Campbell, John Edward, Carlson, Matt
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.12.2002; Broadcast Education Association; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Analysis; Bentham, Jeremy; Commodification; Company marketing practices; Company services; Company systems management; Electronic surveillance; Employment; Information management; Internet; Internet service provider; Internet service providers; Marketing; Political economy; Power; Privacy; Services; Social aspects; Surveillance; Surveillance of citizens; United States
• ISSN: 0883-8151; 1550-6878
• DOI: 10.1207/s15506878jobem4604_6

We explore how marketing imperatives shape the employment of information technologies for the surveillance of individuals online. Informed by political economy theory, we analyze the discourse surrounding marketing models of the World Wide Web, specifically Internet ad servers and infomediaries, in an effort to understand the social implications of online corporate surveillance. Drawing upon the work of Foucault, we consider the usefulness of the metaphorical Panopticon in conceptually apprehending online surveillance and power relations in cyberspace. We argue that the participation of individuals in the online gathering of data about themselves as economic subjects results from the commodification of privacy.