The social impact of national security technologies: ePassports, E911 and mobile alerts

This paper explores the adoption of emerging technologies for the purposes of national security. The three technologies chosen were ePassports, E911 and mobile alerts. The study uses a content analysis methodology drawing on popular media documentation to extract the major social and technological impacts of the technologies on citizens as they were reported. The find i ngs of the study indicate that reactions to the three technologies differed. ePassports were considered vastly different to E911 and mobile alerting predominantly because they were seen to be a controlling technology, whereas E911 and mobile alerting were viewed to be about safety and emergency response.