The discourse of surveillance and privacy: biopower and panopticon in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal

Abstract: The Facebook - Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light in 2018 revealing the problematic surveillance practices, and violations of privacy the companies allowed. The EU has introduced a privacy legislation, GDPR, that came into effect in 2018 shortly after the scandal erupted. Privacy is a key problem with modern technologies, as companies are trying to gain all possible data on individuals. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the surveillance-privacy nexus in the EU. This thesis asked the research question of: How has surveillance, through emerging technologies, affected the EU's ability to protect the right to privacy? To analyse this research question, this thesis used case study and post-structuralist discourse analysis on the recordings of Alexander Nix, CEO of Cambridge Analytica, at a marking festival, and of Mark Zuckerberg at the European Parliament. To analyse the recordings, biopower and panopticon were used as core theoretical tools. Through utilization of the methods and the theoretical tools, the findings of this thesis point to the conclusion that the EU’s ability to protect privacy from surveillance practices was not affected by the modern surveillance technology, and therefore the protection against exploitation of privacy remains low.