Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
16th Conference of the European Sociological Association, Porto, Portekiz, 27 - 30 Ağustos 2024, ss.1
The rapid global rise in access to internet technologies facilitates quick access to information, communication, and products, while also demanding swift decision-making for efficient use. This shift in the political economy of the internet is theorized as “surveillance capitalism” (SC), characterized by the extraction and utilization of user behavioral data for insufficiently disclosed aims that eventually produce further revenue and profit. Explicit consent cannot be given without full disclosure or the option to refuse. Yet, user consent for data collection is presented as a requirement for using online facilities, rendering this initial consent null. The unequal power dynamics between producers and collectors of data are inherent in SC, and the systemic solution rather than structural regulations is in the form of privacy products like the VPN for the users to purchase. The political, economic, and cultural factors affecting the use of VPN services in Turkey offer a unique opportunity to examine how Turkish users view and manage their data privacy. Based on a theoretical comparison of Weber’s social action theory with Chomsky & Herman’s political economy theory on mass manufacturing of consent under Zuboff’s framework of SC, this paper investigates how users perceive, decide on, and act upon privacy concerns during consensual processes. To do so, I focus on digitally literate undergraduates’ VPN usage in Turkey by conducting in-depth interviews and qualitative data coding. This study aims to contribute to the literature by demonstrating SC’s alternative manufacturing of consent under non-standardized political, economic, and social conditions, and discussing potential transformation.