ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the extent to which recent assertions about privacy and digital media are also applicable to publicly accessible spaces in light of digital vigilantism. By revisiting Johnston’s (1996) conceptualization of vigilante activity, it considers how mediated interventions can serve to augment the visibility of targeted individuals in public, and consequently compromise their privacy both within and beyond such spaces. Such considerations will contribute to a working typology of cases of mediated shaming of targeted individuals in public spaces. Digital vigilantism (DV) maintains conventional vigilantism’s commitment to policing and securitizing a designated physical and public space, yet the nature of this citizen-led intervention is extended through mobile devices and social platforms. As the primary means of social harm employed is mediated, attempts to either maintain anonymity or violate privacy in public spaces are seemingly governed through digital platforms, and amplified by user activity. After reflecting on the changing nature of both vigilantism and privacy in light of digital media, this chapter identifies directions for subsequent research on mediated shaming of individuals in public spaces.
