Preliminary findings from the project ‘Digital Citizenship and Surveillance Society’ were presented and discussed at the Guardian Privacy Forum at the Guardian News & Media offices in London on Monday 14 September. Three of the project investigators – Dr Arne Hintz, Dr Lina Dencik and Prof Karin Wahl-Jorgensen – presented results from the workstreams that deal with the media coverage of surveillance and with public knowledge and civil society reactions. Drawing from their content analysis, focus groups and interviews, they highlighted the inadequate nature of media coverage and the powerlessness of users who, while being concerned about surveillance, do not know how to address and resist it. An audience of journalists, privacy officers and lawyers reviewed and discussed the research findings.