“NEW MEDIA ARE NOT REALLY EMPOWERING THEIR

USERS; THEY ARE A PLATFORM FOR THE

SURVEILLANCE OF CITIZENS AND CONSUMERS”
Popularity of new media or also known as social media as a source of information is
observable from an early age. The power of free speech and empowerment has
been perceived as a useful platform nowadays. Social media in its early days saw
embraced the popular image of empowering and enabling its users with rights like
free speech, gender, and sex equality. It provided the deprived with a global
microphone, able to speak and express their thoughts directly to the world. The anti-
government protests in the countries such as the Arab world cemented the idea that
social media could topple dictatorship governments by igniting Arab citizens all over
the globe to ignite together (Uldum, 2018, p.43). On the contrary, terrorists also
began to use these platforms to promote violence and recruit new people. Hence the
past several years have seen the image of social media dipping down as it collided
with the geopolitical interests of countries. Both democratic and authoritarian
governments have realised the immense power that social media has, like
maintaining a single centralised repository of information on a communication
platform. This can be used for surveillance of their citizens at unprecedented control
and censor their speech. Today's public increasingly consumes news through social
media, particularly Facebook, which has resulted in the widespread closing of
independent news outlets (Deibert, 2019, p.21). The richly diverse and lively
ecosystem of ideas that have traditionally guided democracies is being silenced as a
result of the economic collapse of the news industry. More subtly, social platforms'
global censorship controls are extended by centralised rulemaking. Even the most
authoritarian governments were only able to restrict information flow within their
borders in the past. Facebook now has control over what a quarter of the world's
population can talk about, removing national borders and traditional governments
from the equation. Hence, to keep an eye on how their citizens are behaving on
social media, governments are increasingly purchasing sophisticated technology
(Van Dijck, 2020, p.14). With the safeguard of the world's premier insight offices, this
type of mass surveillance has advanced toward a scope of nations, from significant
tyrant powers to more modest or less fortunate states, and by a desire to follow
protesters and mistreated minorities. The flourishing commercial market for social
media surveillance has reduced the barrier to entry for not only the security services
of dictatorships but also for national and local law enforcement agencies in
democracies, where its use is being carried out without much oversight or
accountability. The growing use of social media surveillance threatens to limit the

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space available for civic activism on digital platforms, as does the alarming rise in the
number of nations where individuals have been arrested for their legitimate online
activities.
Social media serves as a forum where all these groups congregate, therefore it
complicates relationships between people and organisations, governments, and the
police. People increasingly live their lives on social media; hence people can be
commonly coined as dwelling in these services and their websites. This puts forward
questions like “Who lives on these social media sites like Facebook?” How do
they interact with each other? “How does their co-existence in the virtual world
affect each other’s lives?” (Ronald et al.2022, p.23). Since social media
surveillance is the main topic of this article, it is noteworthy to know briefly about the
history of social media to understand the concept of online dwellings. Online
communities existed in the 1970s and 1980s. This included bulletin board systems
(BBS), where users used dialup connection to exchange data. Emergence of
websites like LiveJournal in 1999 was also a step towards globally connected social
media. LiveJournal was a weblog service with some features like traditional social
media like personal profiles and ability to add other users as friends. Although built
more for a tech-savvy population, Google’s Usenet in 2001 also gained a lot of
attention (Deibert, 2019, p.25). In 2002, sites like Friendster were launched as more
typical social media sites but it was restricted to subcultures and communities.
Hence it was overshadowed by MySpace which had more mainstream followers and
had strong investment from the media industry. When Facebook was launched in
2004 it could only be used by students of a few ivy league universities. Currently it is
the most used social media platform to date. There have been other competitors to
Facebook like Twitter (also known as Facebook killer), Orkut, CyWorld, StudiVz but
none has scaled to the number of users and countries like Facebook have. In the
early days of social media, the platforms gained a reputation for being staunch
defenders of free speech and giving the oppressed a global megaphone to speak
directly to the world (Kozinets et al. 2021, p.35). The Arab Spring made it clear that
by allowing people from all over the world to come together, social media could even
bring down dictatorships. As fear-based oppressors utilised their foundation to enlist
and advance brutality, Twitter broadly censured Congress' solicitation to reign in
fierce utilisation of its foundation by broadcasting that for the sake of free discourse;
it could never blue pencil a psychological militant. This image has fallen apart over

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the past few years as it has come into conflict with the geopolitical reality of the
social platform world. Most importantly, “democratic and autocratic governments”
around the world have realised how powerful a single, centralised information and
communications platform is to control and censor their citizens' speech and conduct
surveillance at unprecedented resolution.
Social media are platforms where people hang out. They engage in this activity in
order to communicate with and share their life with their peers. Although privacy
helps to reduce the risk of exposure, they have no influence over the motives of
individuals who run platforms like Facebook. Users' lives are exposed more on
Facebook the longer they use it. Surveillance means a sustained and targeted
collection of personal information. It is also a prolonged process. It is not merely
specific instances of exposure, but also the cornerstone of interactions between
people, groups, and the government. The processing and collection of “personal
data” obtained from digital communication platforms are referred to as social media
surveillance. Typically, this is accomplished by means of automated technology that
enables the real-time aggregation, organisation, and analysis of large amounts of
metadata and content (Susanto et al. 2021, p.48). Social media surveillance cannot
be discounted as being less intrusive than spyware, which intercepts
communications by targeting specific individuals' devices. These digital platforms are
used by billions of people worldwide to connect with friends and family, communicate
with loved ones, and express political, social, and religious beliefs. The information
that is gathered, generated, and inferred about individuals who rarely interact with
such services holds tremendous value not only for advertisers but also, increasingly,
for intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The social media market surveillance
has grown by providing better law enforcement and intelligence agencies with new
tools related to aligning with some of the massive information amounts (Walsh and
O'Connor, 2019, p.25). It has been covered with better institute advanced programs
monitoring social media Programs. It has been utilised with the government, which is
speeding in the 15 related countries. It was only associated in the past years that the
programs were either enlarged or newly set off. It has been satisfied with efforts to
increase security, making sure of public order, and also the limitation of
disinformation. Along with that, the government has effectively cooperated with
social media. While these stages ordinarily introduce themselves as friendly
connectors and local area manufacturers, state organisations in harsh nations see

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them as substantial storage facilities of discourse and individual data that can be
noticed, gathered, and broken down to identify and stifle contradiction.

Concerning the observation through web-based entertainment, despite the fact that
administration reconnaissance of activists is an undeniable investigation issue,
corporation observation of activists remains under-investigated in the media.
(Saunders and Eaton, 2018, p.343) examines corporate reconnaissance of activists
and how they criticise the organisation's corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a
kind of green marketing in her study. They use the client's extensive data as well as
natural contentions to describe processes for responding to individual activists in
web-based entertainment. This demonstrates that, while web-based entertainment
provides campaigners with greater visibility than ever before, it also carries the risk
of being observed by organisations. The advancement of web-based entertainment
also provides corporate and governmental components with improved ways to
monitor social changes that they believe to be a risk (Naeem, 2021, p.10). Certain
states frequently consider these threats to public safety. For businesses, they are
interpreted as a reputational risk (Gil de Zúñiga and Diehl, 2019, p.1268). It also
explains how groups follow individual activists via web-based entertainment and their
raw data. This methodology goes beyond the various procedures used by
organisations to collect, process, and examine massive amounts of information from
online sources and investigates how they track and discuss systems to respond to
the activities of individual activists, particularly those occurring via web-based
entertainment. As a result, her assessment focuses more on barriers to activism and
online dissent more than on possibilities. Empowerment is the main procedure by
which vulnerable people become aware of their situation, work together to improve it,
and take advantage of opportunities (Kouroubali and Katehakis, 2019, p.39). As a
result, they gain skills, take charge of their lives, and find solutions to problems. In
the context in which this ability had previously been denied, expanding people's
capacity to make strategic life choices is, according to Kabeer, empowerment. The
process by which women challenge preexisting norms and culture to promote their
well-being effectively is known as female empowerment. As per Wallerstein and
Bernstein, a cycle upholds the support of individuals, associations, and networks in
overseeing their lives locally and in society (Lee et al. 2021, p.30). Empowerment,

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according to a number of studies, is hard to define and more easily understood when
it is absent than when it is present.

In terms of perception via electronic distraction, despite the fact that organisation
monitoring of activists is an unquestionable study topic, partnership perception of
activists remains under-researched in the media. In her analysis, (Welbers and
Opgenhaffen, 2019, p.48) examines corporate monitoring of activists and how they
criticise the association's corporate social obligation (CSR) as a form of green
showcasing. They leverage the client's extensive knowledge as well as common
disputes to describe strategies for responding to particular activists in online gaming.
This demonstrates that, although electronic gaming provides campaigners greater
visibility than ever before, it also transmits the risk of being noticed by associations.
The advancement of internet entertainment also provides business and legislative
parts with more sophisticated methods of monitoring societal modifications that they
consider to be a risk (Lovari and Valentini, 2020, p.317). Certain states consider
these threats to public security on a regular basis. They are interpreted as a
reputational danger for corporations (Laato et al. 2020, p.321). The research of
(Pennycook et al. 2020, p.20) focuses on how gatherings track individual activists
through technological diversion and their raw information. This technique goes
beyond the various methods used by organisations to gather, process, and analyse
massive amounts of data from online sources and investigates how they track and
discuss frameworks to respond to the activities of individual activists, particularly
those occurring through electronic amusement. As a result, the assessment focuses
more on the bounds of activism and online debate than on prospective
consequences. Strengthening is the primary way through which weak people
become aware of their situation, collaborate to improve it and capitalise on
opportunities (Kouroubali and Katehakis, 2019, p.39). As a result, kids develop skills,
take responsibility for their life, and seek solutions to problems. According to Kabeer,
increasing people's power to pursue critical vital decisions is strengthening in an
environment where this capability was recently prohibited.

Social media is also identified to be used as a tool in order to identify the pattern of
buying and other information. On that note, it has also been identified that the

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consideration of AI technologies and big data has been recognized to be tracking the
data of the information which are shared in order to provide better customer
experience, however, it is creating surveillance over the people. Furthermore, it has
also been determined from the evaluation that the impact of political context is also
observable to be an influential factor in social media. The research of Zhuravskaya
et al. (2020) has explained that the amplification of the geopolitical context as well as
the economic context of a country has been observable. On that note, the research
work has also depicted the fact that many scholars have criticised social or new
media for sharing fake news. This helps in reflecting upon the fact that there are low
barriers for these political parties. Hence, in order to influence people social media
has also been used through misleading people and influencing their opinions.
The wide usage and dwelling of users in social media have also led to an increase in
hate speech, offensive speech and cyberbullying practices. Offensive language can
be coined as insulting, hurtful, derogatory, or obscene content directed from one
person to another person. Sometimes several radical organisations, political parties
have monitored usage of people and used offensive and hate speeches to turn
people of different communities against each other. Governments have also used
various organisations and dummy bodies to monitor citizens and use it for their own
means. This public information can even turn into the outcome of important elections
and memorandums. Such kind of controversial activities have been noticed and
talked about during Brexit and US presidential elections. To the number of persons
on the phone and on the phone. China is a market leader in terms of developing,
deploying, and marketing web-based entertainment testing techniques. A Chinese
organisation, Semptian, has published the "Aegis" observation framework, which can
store and analyse an infinite quantity of data. Mechanical advances in human
awareness (computer-based intelligence) have paved the way for mechanised mass
observation. Simulated intelligence apparatuses, for example, emotion examination
and regular language handling, as well as modern observing frameworks, can rapidly
plan clients' connections and dissect the significance or disposition of their online
entertainment postings, determining where they are now and where they will be in
the future. People's thoughts, words, and actions are all susceptible to being
influenced by the media. Clearly, the media lacks political mandate or coercive
power, but this is not a weakness because the power of the pen has increasingly
outpaced sword power, particularly in the “post-Cold War era”. This does not mean

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that military might is no longer important; rather, it means that military might is not
always the answer to all problems in the world (Chaker et al. 2022, p.10). This
contrasts with the situation in ancient times, when disputes were frequently settled
through physical or military campaigns, the winner was presumed to have received a
divine blessing, and ordinary people accepted the outcome as the will of god or
nature without question. The Control Revolution is another example of how powerful
media can be. The media's ability to influence how a large number of people use
communication technologies is known as the Control Revolution.
Additionally, face-to-face communication is no longer required to control major
markets and the government, thanks to rapid information technology growth; With
the new mass media, international communication, telecommunications, and
bureaucratic organisations, control is restored (Kizgin et al. 2020, p.54). Additionally,
information processing and transmission are intertwined, as stated by the "control
function." As an outcome, a society's capacity for control, from interpersonal to
international communication, will be "directly proportional to the development of its
information technologies."
Unfortunately, thanks to these AI technologies governments and organisations have
more sophisticated tools for greater public surveillance. As a result, individuals
should be increasingly concerned about the privacy of their data, and international
organisations should set rules and standards that allow them to voice their views.
Democracy needs active public spaces, both offline and online, in which people may
communicate, organise, and go about their everyday lives without fear of continual
observation. However, the research of (Valenzuela et al. 2019, p.804) has deceived
people about the aspects that can help people to differentiate between fake to real
news. More specifically, in this context, it has been discussed that in order to combat
fake news organisations are needed to consider tej scope of microblogging and the
ratings of news sources. Furthermore, it has also been recognised in this research
work that to deal with the challenges of surveillance are still not present as it has
been used to keep the track of yeh information of users. Therefore, it becomes clear
that the news media is tracking the information and the scope of fake news is also
high in the new media. As a result of these artificial intelligence advancements,
nations and organisations now have more sophisticated technologies for more
conspicuous public observation. As a result, people should be increasingly
concerned about the security of their information, and worldwide organisations

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should establish policies and guidelines that allow them to express their opinions. A
majority rule system needs active public places, both offline and online, where
people may communicate, gather, and go about their daily lives without fear of being
judged. Nonetheless, the investigation of (Apuke and Omar, 2021, p.13) has led
people to believe that there are views that can aid people in distinguishing between
fake and real news. More specifically, in this one-of-a-kind condition, it has been
discovered that in order to combat false news affiliations, the degree of
microblogging and the assessments of data sources should be considered.
Furthermore, it has been observed in this inquiry work that dealing with the issues of
surveillance is now not present as it has been utilised to screen yeh information of
customers. Appropriately, the news media is obviously following the information, and
the level of fake news is also high in the new media.

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