Duplicitous Social Media and Data Surveillance: An evaluation of privacy risk

Abstract The surveillance of social media-based data is extensive and is showing little signs of abating. Alarmingly, social media corporates are seemingly irreproachable in this matter with many data surveillance practices persisting—even post Cambridge Analytica. In this article, we argue, and demonstrate, that although data surveillance is not a new concept, it has evolved from a mechanism which benefited society to an instrument of control; not only to control the accumulation of capital but more importantly user behavior. To illustrate this, we use Facebook Apps as an example to demonstrate both the scope and the implications of such surveillance practices. This article contributes by arguing how the evolution of data surveillance has culminated in the slow erosion of information privacy by aggregating data across several Facebook Apps. We conclude that data surveillance via social media is taking place, which holds inherent risk in the consumption (and production) of social media-based information. This does not necessarily refer simply to the short-term risks (e.g., fraud, phishing, and identity theft), but also to those that are long term in nature, such as the loss of control once engaged with social media. Once the data has been harvested, aggregated and shared, it is almost impossible to reverse and thus persists as part of a data assemblage that is forever associated with an individual. As such, we argue that this precludes individuals from reinventing themselves (e.g., moving to a new city to start “a new life”), as their aggregated profile will follow them. The resulting problem carries with it profound psychological and societal implications.