Dealing with the Black Box: European Journalists and the Threats of Spyware

The paper analyzes how reporters and technologists working withing the journalistic field make sens of spyware ant the different threats it brings to news-making. The paper sheds light on how journalists make sense of these threats, what they concerns are and what they think can protect them. Empirical in nature, the paper brings insights about how these issues are dealt with in Europe.

Sample

This paper is based on 14 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted in the autumn of 2022 with technologists and journalists working for European-based organizations.

Main Findings

Qualitative and exploratory in nature, and theoretically grounded in surveillance studies and the growing body of literature on information security in journalism, the article is based on a series of qualitative interviews with technologists and reporters conducted to deepen the understanding of the threats posed by spyware and to provide an overview of potential resistance and neutralization practices that journalists can put in place, as well as their effectiveness.

Policy recommendations/implications

n/a