Contextual Intent: Activists' Privacy Considerations for Collaborative Technology in U.S. Social Movement Groups
Authors: Alexandria LeClerc (Oregon State University), Glencora Borradaile (Oregon State University), Kelsy Kretschmer (Oregon State University)
Volume: 2026
Issue: 3
Pages: 484–504
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0092
Abstract: Activists engage in highly public and collaborative work, and their social movement groups have long been targeted by the surveillance state. Many consider the adoption of secure and privacy-enhancing technologies to be the antidote. However, activists operate with limited resources and elevated risk, making the adoption of these technologies difficult and imperfect. We investigate how groups navigate organizing using digital communication, and specifically how groups make intentional (even if insecure) decisions around privacy protections in their organizing. We interviewed 40 activists belonging to 33 U.S.-based social movement groups ranging in size, structure, and tactics. Responses were analyzed qualitatively to uncover factors influencing digital security decisions for organizing work. We find that low-risk hierarchical groups with a lack of training and little concern for surveillance tended to not consider privacy as they navigate digital technologies and horizontally-organized groups engaging in risky activities took intentional strides to enhance their digital privacy within the context of their activism. The availability and influence of a technically-minded group member or advisor plays a strong role in the adoption of PETs. A groups\' lack of knowledge in PET use or concern with surveillance is a barrier to PET adoption and highlights the importance of education. Finally, we find that feature availability and learnability is still an important factor in PET adoption. This work illustrates the nuanced factors and responses that users aware of the threat of surveillance are taking into consideration, including but not restricted to, the adoption of E2EE communication technology and the digital security culture necessary to operationalize it.
Keywords: privacy, surveillance, usability, social movements
Copyright in PoPETs articles are held by their authors. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
