Mapping the Territories of Privacy: Textual Analysis of Privacy Frames in American Mainstream News

Abstract

In the attempt to shed light on the multifaceted complexity of privacy, this paper explores the frames that emerged in American coverage of privacy since the 1980s. Informed by framing theory, this study assumes that media frames represent an important component of how society approaches and discusses issues. The author collected 2,473 articles covering privacy published in three timeframes. The author identified seven frames of privacy and developed dictionaries to automate frame detection. Then, the author explored the occurrence and co-occurrence of frames combining qualitative and quantitative textual analysis techniques. Results reveal that American media consistently implement four main frames: the value of truth, expected flow, fundamental privacy, and trading privacy. Three secondary frames emerge: privacy is dead, relationships, and users' responsibility. Results also reveal that the framing of privacy as a fundamental value is declining whereas the portrayal of the commercial value of personal data is increasing.

#MyPrivacy

“…The rich conceptual debate about privacy is a fertile ground for framing research. Somewhat surprisingly however, studies explicitly tackling the question of framing of privacy are scarce [24]. Existing research focuses primarily on frames in communication of elite actors such as policymakers, new media [6], [24], or technology designers, who often view emphasizing privacy as a barrier to adoption [25].…”

Identifying trends in information security and privacy concern research

“…Kim and Kim (2018) use this method to map research trends in information security by examining papers published between 1991 and 2016. Fornaciari (2014) used framing and textual analysis techniques applied to American news sources to investigate the evolution of the term ‘privacy’. Yun et al (2019) studied the research development on PIP by conducting interviews and content analysis.…”

We Care About Different Things: Non-Elite Conceptualizations of Social Media Privacy

“…The rich conceptual debate about privacy is a fertile ground for framing research. Somewhat surprisingly, however, studies explicitly tackling the question of the framing of privacy are scarce (Fornaciari, 2014). Existing research focuses primarily on frames in communication of elite actors such as policymakers (Epstein et al, 2014), new media (Fornaciari, 2014), or technology designers (Obar & Oeldorf-Hirsch, 2017), who often view emphasizing privacy as a barrier to adoption.…”

“…Somewhat surprisingly, however, studies explicitly tackling the question of the framing of privacy are scarce (Fornaciari, 2014). Existing research focuses primarily on frames in communication of elite actors such as policymakers (Epstein et al, 2014), new media (Fornaciari, 2014), or technology designers (Obar & Oeldorf-Hirsch, 2017), who often view emphasizing privacy as a barrier to adoption. The elite status of these actors stems from their position of relative informational power in terms of the ability to influence the design of privacy policy or technology (Braman, 2009), as well as driving the agenda of public discourse about privacy.…”