Terms of public service: Framing mobile privacy discourses

Abstract

Engaging normative theories of the press and research examining the evolution of privacy coverage, this study examines press coverage of mobile app privacy issues between 2013 and 2016. The research sheds light on how the press frames privacy concerns within the mobile app context. Since such coverage can define the norms circumscribing the flows of users’ personal information, this study contributes to the debate about the role of the press in alerting the public to privacy issues that carry significant public interest implications. Ultimately, mobile privacy coverage favors certain solutions over others, emphasizes privacy tradeoffs over privacy rights, and balances user powerlessness with mobile app convenience and innovation, with implications for privacy discourses in public and policy arenas.