Selected Papers of Internet Research 16:  

The 16th Annual Meeting of the  
Association of Internet Researchers 

Phoenix, AZ, USA / 21-24 October 2015 
 

 
HOW  MOBILE  PHONE  SURVEILLANCE  CONTRIBUTES  TO  DIGITAL  
INEQUALITIES  FOR  DISADVANTAGED  URBAN  RESIDENTS  
  
Jan  Fernback  
Temple  University    
  
Gwen  Shaffer  
California  State  University  Long  Beach  
  
Background    
  
Participation  in  the  social  world  demands  disclosure  of  personal  information,  and  the  
increasing  reliance  on  mobile  devices  compounds  this  reality.  Americans  routinely  
communicate  through  mobile  apps  such  as  Facebook,  Instragram  and  Skype.  
Consumers  skip  the  mall  and,  instead,  make  purchases  on  their  smart  phones.  And  
more  than  one-­third  of  all  Internet  searches  originate  on  a  mobile  phone  (Statista,  
2013).  Within  each  of  these  contexts,  Americans  willingly  disclose—or  inadvertently  
reveal—their  political  opinions,  values  and  personal  interests.  And  Americans  living  in  
disadvantaged  urban  communities  often  rely  exclusively  on  mobile  devices  for  
accessing  the  Internet.  This  study  explores  the  potential  for  the  “digital  imaginary”  to  
obscure  inequalities.  It  examines:  in  what  way  is  social  capital  for  the  urban  poor  
impacted  by  the  tracking,  storing  and  possible  disclosure  of  their  information?  Because  
private  information  obtained  through  mobile  surveillance  is  often  used  in  discriminatory  
ways,  what  implications  exist  for  managing  digital  inequalities?      
  
Specifically,  60%  of  Hispanics  and  43%  of  African-­Americans  are  cell-­mostly  Internet  
users,  compared  with  27%  of  whites.  These  statistics  reflect  the  fact  that  computer  
ownership  among  African  Americans  and  Latinos  lags  behind  computer  ownership  by  
whites.  Additionally,  nearly  half  of  Internet  users  in  households  with  an  annual  income  
below  $30,000  tend  to  use  phones  to  go  online—compared  with  27%  of  Internet  users  
in  households  with  an  annual  income  exceeding  $75,000  (Pew  Research  Center,  2013).    
  
Communication  theorists  have  drawn  analogies  between  surveillance  and  the  
“panopticon”  or  “Big  Brother,”  where  the  state  and  corporations  exert  power  and  control  
over  the  masses  through  ubiquitous  monitoring  (Foucault,  1977;;  Gandy,  1993).  When  
Edward  Snowden  leaked  200,000  classified  NSA  documents  in  June,  many  Americans  
expressed  shock  that  the  government  may  tap  their  cell  phones.  However,  data  profiling  

Suggested  Citation  (APA):  Fernback,  J.  &  Shaffer,  G.  (2015,  October  21-­24)  How  Mobile  Phone  
Surveillance  Contributes  To  Digital  Inequalities  For  Disadvantaged  Urban  Residents.  Paper  presented  
at  Internet  Research  16:  The  16th  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Association  of  Internet  Researchers.  Phoenix,  
AZ,  USA:  AoIR.  Retrieved  from  http://spir.aoir.org.  



is  nothing  new  for  members  of  marginalized  groups.  Families  who  access  the  public  
benefits  system  must  relinquish  detailed  personal  and  financial  information,  scan  
fingerprints,  and  submit  to  drug  tests.  New  mobile  apps  purporting  to  make  the  
assistance  application  process  “easier”  now  supply  agencies  with  even  more  electronic  
data.  Immigrants  living  in  Southern  California  are  also  familiar  with  federal  surveillance.  
U.S.  Customs  &  Border  Protection  operates  “interceptor  towers”  that  masquerade  as  
cell  phone  towers.  Placed  along  the  U.S.-­Mexico  border,  these  devices  capture  voice  
and  data  transmissions  from  every  mobile  phone  in  the  area  (Rosenblum,  2014).    
  
Our  study  will  also  encompass  the  impact  of  tracking  by  social  media  sites.  Facebook,  
Twitter,  Instagram,  Foursquare,  and  Yelp  are  among  phone  apps  that  send  the  names,  
email  addresses  and  potentially  phone  numbers  from  a  device’s  internal  address  book  
to  the  apps’  own  servers.  High  rates  of  social  media  use  among  young  African  
Americans  makes  them  particularly  vulnerable  to  privacy  breaches.  Forty  percent  of  18-­  
29  year  old  African  Americans  who  use  the  Internet  say  they  tweet—12  percentage  
points  higher  compared  to  young  whites  on  Twitter.  About  38%  of  online  adult  African  
Americans  and  34%  of  online  adult  Latinos  use  Instagram,  compared  to  21%  of  online  
adult  whites  (Pew  Research  Center,  2013).  Finally,  disadvantaged  urban  residents  may  
be  targets  of  corporate  surveillance.  Experian  Marketing  encourages  retailers  to  
consider  mobile  payments  as  “a  tactic”  for  engaging  African  American  shoppers.  This  
strategy  enables  retailers  to  store  credit  card  numbers  and  install  “cookies”—pieces  of  
code  left  on  a  browser  that  track  shopping  and  Web  surfing  habits.  Brick-­and-­mortar  
stores  also  monitor  customers’  movements  by  following  Wi-­Fi  signals  from  their  
smartphones.  Combined  with  video  surveillance,  these  stores  collect  demographic  
information  (Clifford  &  Hardy,  2013).  Our  interviews  will  explore  whether  people  living  in  
marginalized  communities  perceive  surveillance  as  discriminatory  and  how,  if  at  all,  this  
impacts  their  privacy  practices  and  decision-­making.  
  
Significance    
  
While  survey  data  collected  by  the  Pew  Research  Center  provide  useful  statistics  about  
mobile  technology  habits,  quantitative  research  lacks  context  and  detail.  By  contrast,  
our  study  will  provide  comprehensive  empirical  evidence.  Interviews  are  a  crucial  
element  of  this  project,  enabling  us  to  delve  deeper  into  issues  of  interest  and  consider  
nuances.  A  qualitative  approach  will  help  us  obtain  a  sense  of  informants’  lived  
experiences  and  humanize  the  impact  of  privacy  breaches.  Because  qualitative  
research  is,  by  definition,  exploratory,  we  see  an  opportunity  to  define  challenges  
researchers  neglected  to  articulate  previously.    
  
Methods    
  
We  plan  to  partner  with  non-­profit  privacy  rights  organizations  in  Philadelphia  and  
Southern  California  to  recruit  subjects,  to  provide  space  for  interviews,  and  to  help  
disseminate  project  findings  in  the  neighborhoods.  Potential  local  partners  include  the  
California  Public  Interest  Research  Group  and  the  Coalition  for  Humane  Immigrant  
Rights.  In  order  to  address  issues  of  power,  inequity  and  marginalization,  we  plan  to  
take  a  “critical”  approach  to  this  research.  Our  data  collection  methods  will  include  
participant  observation  and  interviews,  allowing  us  to  gain  insights  into  our  informants’  



attitudes  and  concerns.  Qualitative  studies  rely  on  inductive  reasoning  to  interpret  and  
derive  meaning  from  data.  Qualitative  analysis  involves  synthesizing  a  portrait  of  a  
phenomenon;;  theorizing  about  how  and  why  particular  linkages  and  relationships  exist;;  
and  re-­contextualizing  or  developing  new  knowledge  about  these  relationships  and  
practices  (Morse,  1994).  By  taking  a  “phenomenological  approach,”  we  will  gain  an  
understanding  of  the  crucial  structures  underlying  our  informants’  experiences  with  
mobile  phones.  We  plan  to  tie  these  experiences  to  the  current  (government  and  
corporate)  policy  environment.    
  
Anticipated  findings    
  
We  aim  to  produce  a  rich  descriptive  and  interpretive  account  of  the  lives  and  values  
held  by  low-­income,  minority  and  immigrant  mobile  phone  users.  We  will  examine  
mobile  phone  surveillance  within  a  broader  context  of  actions  (i.e.  social  media  
practices,  Internet  access),  attitudes  (i.e.  toward  the  government,  corporations,  apps)  
and  the  symbolic  meaning  of  information  technologies.  By  taking  a  “critical”  approach  to  
our  analysis,  we  seek  to  expose  underlying  problems  and  place  them  within  the  broader  
context  of  digital  inequality.  We  will  examine  the  inherent  trade-­offs  between  using  
devices  capable  of  personalizing  information,  and  the  surveillance  enabled  by  this  data  
collection.  We  intend  for  our  findings  to  inform  policy  recommendations  for  government  
regulators;;  suggest  best  practices  for  private/corporate  entities  that  monitor  and  collect  
mobile  phone  data;;  and  serve  as  the  basis  for  a  public  information  campaign  meant  to  
help  minimize  discriminatory  practices  in  the  networked  sphere.    
  
References  
    
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Gandy,  O.  (1993).  The  panoptic  sort:  A  political  economy  of  personal  information.  

Boulder,  CO:  Westview  Press.    
Gay,  L.,  Mills,  G.,  and  Aira  sian,  P.  (2012).  Educational  research:  Competencies  for  

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Pew  Research  Center  (2013,  September  16).  Cell  Internet  Use  2013.  Pew  Research  
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Rosenblum,  A.  (2014,  September  15).  Who  is  running  phony  cell  towers  around  the  
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around-­  united-­states    

Statista  (2013).  Facts  on  mobile  Internet  usage.  Retrieved  from  
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