Jennifer Whitson
"Securing the Self: Consumer responses to dataveillance, information 'leaks' and identity theft"
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Carleton University
Using the example of identity theft, Whitson suggests that institutionally promoted
informational security measures encourage the fashioning of a particular form of subject; a hyper-vigilant citizen whose daily routines, home environment, consumption patterns and sense of self is being brought into accord with power dynamics characteristic of an informational age. While citizens are encouraged by the specter of identity theft to reduce personal risks and maximize the potentialities related to their data doubles, available securitization methods are rooted in institutional self-interest and quests for profit. In responding to occurrences of identity theft, victimized citizens occupy a position traditionally held by offenders. They become the primary object of statistics, trend predictions, risk profiling, and surveillance in general and commonly suffer more from the bureaucratic trials necessary to re-establish their identity then from the initial victimization itself.
Everyone welcome!
The Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o David Murakami Wood
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa
Canada