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 sincethe early 2010s, scholars have documented the continuedimportance of urban space and “place-based networks” for socialmovements. However, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong Anti-ELABprotests saw a shift from occupying symbolic public space to amore variegated use of urban spaces in the city. Combiningnetwork analysis of Telegram channels and georeferencing ofprotest events, this study shows how new digital media platformssuch as Telegram enabled a diverse array of protest activities, aswell as a shift from formal centrally located civic spaces to awider range of everyday spaces including malls, offices, andindustrial buildings. This study also asks why this occurred,situating the shifting geography of protests as a response toseveral factors: new social media technologies, strengthening ofstate surveillance of physical and digital space, and collectivelearning from the perceived failures of past movements. Theimplications of these shifts for the future of urban socialmovements and the “public sphere” are discussed.