Ideology, Critique and Surveillance

The 2013 revelations concerning global surveillance programmes demonstrate in unprecedented clarity the need for Critical Theory of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address the mechanisms and implications of increasingly global, ubiquitous surveillance. This is all the more urgen...

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Main Author: Heidi Herzogenrath-Amelung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Paderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research Group 2013-11-01
Series:tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/499
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author Heidi Herzogenrath-Amelung
author_facet Heidi Herzogenrath-Amelung
author_sort Heidi Herzogenrath-Amelung
collection DOAJ
description The 2013 revelations concerning global surveillance programmes demonstrate in unprecedented clarity the need for Critical Theory of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address the mechanisms and implications of increasingly global, ubiquitous surveillance. This is all the more urgent because of the dominance of the “surveillance ideology” (the promise of security through surveillance) that supports the political economy of surveillance. This paper asks which theoretical arguments and concepts can be useful for philosophically grounding a critique of this surveillance ideology. It begins by examining how the surveillance ideology works through language and introduces the concept of the ‘ideological packaging’ of ICTs to show how rhetoric surrounding the implementation of surveillance technologies reinforces the surveillance ideology. It then raises the problem of how ideology-critique can work if it relies on language itself and argues that Martin Heidegger’s philosophy can make a useful contribution to existing critical approaches to language.
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publisher Paderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research Group
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spelling doaj-art-7601ee09bf3841f2b18b5bc507175b0c2025-08-20T02:55:13ZengPaderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research GrouptripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique1726-670X2013-11-0111210.31269/triplec.v11i2.499499Ideology, Critique and SurveillanceHeidi Herzogenrath-AmelungThe 2013 revelations concerning global surveillance programmes demonstrate in unprecedented clarity the need for Critical Theory of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address the mechanisms and implications of increasingly global, ubiquitous surveillance. This is all the more urgent because of the dominance of the “surveillance ideology” (the promise of security through surveillance) that supports the political economy of surveillance. This paper asks which theoretical arguments and concepts can be useful for philosophically grounding a critique of this surveillance ideology. It begins by examining how the surveillance ideology works through language and introduces the concept of the ‘ideological packaging’ of ICTs to show how rhetoric surrounding the implementation of surveillance technologies reinforces the surveillance ideology. It then raises the problem of how ideology-critique can work if it relies on language itself and argues that Martin Heidegger’s philosophy can make a useful contribution to existing critical approaches to language.https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/499Critical TheoryHeideggerICTssurveillanceideologycritique
spellingShingle Heidi Herzogenrath-Amelung
Ideology, Critique and Surveillance
tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
Critical Theory
Heidegger
ICTs
surveillance
ideology
critique
title Ideology, Critique and Surveillance
title_full Ideology, Critique and Surveillance
title_fullStr Ideology, Critique and Surveillance
title_full_unstemmed Ideology, Critique and Surveillance
title_short Ideology, Critique and Surveillance
title_sort ideology critique and surveillance
topic Critical Theory
Heidegger
ICTs
surveillance
ideology
critique
url https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/499
work_keys_str_mv AT heidiherzogenrathamelung ideologycritiqueandsurveillance