Prediction, pre-emption and limits to dissent: Social media and big data uses for policing protests in the United Kingdom
Social media and big data uses form part of a broader shift from ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’ forms of governance in which state bodies engage in analysis to predict, pre-empt and respond in real time to a range of social problems. Drawing on research with British police, we contextualize these algorit...
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| Published in: | New media & society Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 1433 - 1450 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London, England
SAGE Publications
01.04.2018
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| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 1461-4448, 1461-7315 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Social media and big data uses form part of a broader shift from ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’ forms of governance in which state bodies engage in analysis to predict, pre-empt and respond in real time to a range of social problems. Drawing on research with British police, we contextualize these algorithmic processes within actual police practices, focusing on protest policing. Although aspects of algorithmic decision-making have become prominent in police practice, our research shows that they are embedded within a continuous human–computer negotiation that incorporates a rooted claim to ‘professional judgement’, an integrated intelligence context and a significant level of discretion. This context, we argue, transforms conceptions of threats. We focus particularly on three challenges: the inclusion of pre-existing biases and agendas, the prominence of marketing-driven software, and the interpretation of unpredictability. Such a contextualized analysis of data uses provides important insights for the shifting terrain of possibilities for dissent. |
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| ISSN: | 1461-4448 1461-7315 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1461444817697722 |