This chapter is based on the results of a questionnaire that was distributed to students at Umeå University, Sweden, and investigates their propensity to accept online surveillance in relation to three conditions that could increase their acceptance of it: 1) that it results in personal benefits; 2) that they have consented to it; and 3) that society can benefit from it. To categorise the respondents’ positions, I use a conceptual apparatus from moral philosophy, namely, the distinction between deontological and consequentialist ethical views. The study reveals two clear tendencies among the respondents: The most considerable difference among them is a difference in their general attitudes to being surveilled online rather than a difference in ethical thinking of a kind that can be framed in terms of deontology and consequentialism; the personal benefits that can result from allowing online surveillance do not generally have any significant impact on their acceptance of it.
This chapter was written as part of the project “iAccept: Soft Surveillance – Between Acceptance and Resistance” (MAW 2016.0092), funded by the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation.