مجلة العلوم القانونية والاجتماعية
Volume 11, Numéro 2, Pages 716-735
2026-06-01
The Digital Society And New Mechanisms Of Social Control: When The Public Becomes The Censor
Authors : Boukehil Samia .
Abstract
Abstract : This paper offers a critical reading of how contemporary communication environments contribute to shaping mechanisms of social regulation and authority within society. Employing a semi-systematic literature review methodology based on the PRISMA framework, the study analyzes 24 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database (2020-2026) to examine social media practices and their repercussions on the public sphere. The research seeks to clarify how technological transformations impose a form of technological determinism in constructing social structures and forming both social and cybernetic entities. The findings reveal three primary patterns: (1) digital platforms have evolved into quasi-public institutions exercising sovereign powers through algorithmic governance; (2) the Digital Panopticon model transforms users into simultaneous guards and prisoners, where mutual surveillance normalizes disciplinary behaviors; and (3) participatory surveillance and cancel culture represent new forms of social control that challenge traditional legal frameworks. The study concludes that surveillance in digital society has shifted from centralized top-down monitoring to a decentralized, liquid system where surveillance roles are distributed among the public, creating unprecedented challenges for privacy and individual liberty.
Keywords
Digital Society ; Social Control ; Participatory Surveillance ; Algorithmic Governance.
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