WHY ONLINE PRIVACY IS NOT DEAD: NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT IN SOCIAL MEDIA

This is an article published in "Discover Society" (n.5, 2014), an online journal aiming to diffuse social research and policy analysis to larger audiences.This is a summary of results from a larger research project on online privacy. It discussed the " end of privacy " theme in current political and scientific debates about the internet. Beyond unprecedented intrusion by governments and corporations, the analysis focuses on individuals themselves, and the conditions under which they share contents on social media. Contrary to received wisdom, they are not animated by a mindless appetite for openness and self-disclosure; rather, social media users continuously negotiate their privacy among themselves and with service providers. Their approach to online sharing is more strategic and controlled than commonly thought, and the public outcry after the Snowden scandals is just one episode in a long series of lively controversies