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Managing Personal Data in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism: A Sociomaterial Reading of Mozilla’s Data Detox Kit

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Information Literacy in a Post-Truth Era (ECIL 2021)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1533))

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Abstract

Within the logic of surveillance capitalism, individuals become objects from which raw material (data) is extracted to enable the selling of predictions of behavior. In this study, the Data Detox Kit (DDK), developed by the not-for-profit Mozilla Foundation, is viewed as a contemporary, practical example of data literacy expressed through descriptions of information activities. A sociomaterial perspective is applied to identify and analyze sociomaterial assemblages among the information activities described in the DDK. Two forms of data literacy are identified and discussed: a re-active mode, focused on removing data already gathered, and a pro-active mode, focused on preventing data from being gathered. Through the analysis it is possible to discuss the role of data in our everyday lives, including the challenging task of managing personal data online.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

    Fredrik Hanell

Authors
  1. Fredrik Hanell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fredrik Hanell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    Serap Kurbanoğlu

  2. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Sonja Špiranec

  3. Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    Yurdagül Ünal

  4. Université Gustave Eiffel, Champs-sur-Marne, France

    Joumana Boustany

  5. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Denis Kos

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Hanell, F. (2022). Managing Personal Data in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism: A Sociomaterial Reading of Mozilla’s Data Detox Kit. In: Kurbanoğlu, S., Špiranec, S., Ünal, Y., Boustany, J., Kos, D. (eds) Information Literacy in a Post-Truth Era. ECIL 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1533. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99885-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99885-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-99884-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-99885-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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