Following Snowden, German uncertainty about monitoring

Abstract

Purpose-As part of an international study of knowledge of and attitudes to Snowden's revelations about the activities of the NSA/GCHQ, this paper deals with Germany, taking its socio-cultural and political environment surrounding privacy and state surveillance into account. Design/methodology/approach-A questionnaire was answered by 76 German University students. The quantitative responses to the survey were statistically analysed as well as qualitative considerations of free text answers. Findings-Snowden's revelations have had an important influence over German students' attitudes toward privacy and state surveillance, and shows concerns over the privacy risks associated with Internet activity. Practical implications-The study results imply a need to build a collective awareness of the importance of the right to privacy and its responsibilities, the available technological options for individuals to exert their own privacy and security and the democratic means to agree and enforce appropriate legal restrictions on state surveillance. Social implications-Young Germans support Snowden's actions and would be more willing to emulate him in Germany than the US. While many believe that people must give up some privacy and freedom for security, few seem to believe that current US or German approaches are valid and justified. Originality/value-This study is the first attempt to investigate the social impact of Snowden's revelations on German students' attitudes toward privacy and state surveillance as part of cross-cultural analyses between eight countries.

Cultural factors and the role of privacy concerns in acceptance of government surveillance

“…Public acceptance of surveillance is influenced by various factors, including privacy concerns (Dinev & Hart, 2006;Dinev, Hart, & Mullen, 2008), the perceived need for surveillance (Brown & Korff, 2009;Dutton, Guerra, Zizzo, & Peltu, 2005), and trust in the government (Trüdinger & Steckermeier, 2017). Much research as to the factors that influence public acceptance of government surveillance has been conducted in the US context; however, revelations about Edward Snowden's leaks have led to increased interest in the government surveillance perceptions of citizens in other countries (e.g., Adams Andrew, 2017a, 2017bMurata, 2017a;Murata, 2017b). There has also been little research into whether the use of privacy protections is influenced by acceptance of government surveillance and privacy concerns and to what extent national culture plays a role in influencing public acceptance of surveillance or the adoption of privacy protections.…”