Mobile Phontrol.

A sociological work on mobile communications and surveillance in the Connected Society.

Fundamentally, there are two ways of exerting control through mobile phones. On the one hand, there is use and misuse of mobile phone technology and digitized data generated through mobile communication which is performed by either the state and/or enterprises. On the other, there is social control which gets exercised by members of our social networks (including passers-by on the street) and by ourselves (one example being the compulsion of being reachable 24/7).

This sociological thesis, presented at herbstCamp, shows how control and surveillance can be exerted trough mobile communication and mobile devices. It points out the chances and risks of mobile phontrol and their impact on our society; its consequences with reference to privacy and data protection will be discussed.

Kathrin Kollmann