Cookies and content moderation: affective chilling effects of internet surveillance and censorship

ABSTRACT

This study builds on previous surveillance and censorship research that has uncovered the chilling effects of these online technologies. It tests the assumption that political chilling occurs through affective heuristics. By manipulating an online privacy policy to include the presence of either website cookies, as a means of surveillance, or content moderation, as a form of censorship, this research indicates that both website features activate negative affect, but only surveillance engenders problematic chilling effects. The additional presence of U.S. national security justifications accompanying the website cookies or content moderation suppressed some feelings of fear, but did not reduce political chilling. These findings prompt a discussion of how website and application cookies impact expression in digital spaces.

KEYWORDS:

• chilling effect
• surveillance
• http cookies
• content moderation
• internet censorship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Stoycheff

Elizabeth Stoycheff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University. Her research focuses on the democratic effects of online surveillance and censorship technology.