From the square to the shopping mall: new social media, state surveillance, and the evolving geographies of urban protest

Abstract

Despite the rise of social media as a major factor in protests since the early 2010s, scholars have documented the continued importance of urban space and “place-based networks” for social movements. However, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong Anti-ELAB protests saw a shift from occupying symbolic public space to a more variegated use of urban spaces in the city. Combining network analysis of Telegram channels and georeferencing of protest events, this study shows how new digital media platforms such as Telegram enabled a diverse array of protest activities, as well as a shift from formal centrally located civic spaces to a wider range of everyday spaces including malls, offices, and industrial buildings. This study also asks why this occurred, situating the shifting geography of protests as a response to several factors: new social media technologies, strengthening of state surveillance of physical and digital space, and collective learning from the perceived failures of past movements. The implications of these shifts for the future of urban social movements and the “public sphere” are discussed.