Research and development in criminal law and criminology

Research and development in criminal law and criminology

Punishment, Discipline, and Presentation in Cyberspace with a reflection on the Theories of Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Mohamadmehdi Sadeghi
Faculty of law and political science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
10.22034/jclc.2026.2081330.1304
Abstract
This article analyzes new forms of penal order in cyberspace by revisiting the theories of Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman. Its main argument is that cyberspace, through invisible algorithmic surveillance and theatrical punishment mechanisms, has produced a modern, pervasive form of social ordering. This order demonstrates both the continuity and transformation of classical power logics. From a Foucauldian perspective, cyberspace has become a fully-fledged algorithmic panopticon. Power is exercised not through physical force, but via constant monitoring, ranking, behavioral data extraction, and soft punishments such as shadow-banning, restricted access, or removal from search results. These mechanisms push digital citizens toward self-discipline, conformity, and anticipatory compliance. Concurrently, employing Goffman’s dramaturgical framework, cyberspace functions as a permanent stage where punishments are inherently theatrical. Phenomena like cancel culture and online public shaming represent the deliberate destruction of the individual’s curated self-presentation within this social theater, effectively depriving them of participation in virtual interactions. The findings reveal how these two logics—invisible disciplinary power (Foucault) and theatrical punishment (Goffman)—are deeply intertwined. Their fusion creates complex, decentralized forms of social control where every user simultaneously acts as a performer, spectator, and enforcer. Furthermore, the article demonstrates that these processes serve the logic of surveillance capitalism. Algorithms, designed to maximize engagement, systematically amplify outrage and punitive content, turning moral condemnation into a profitable commodity within the attention economy. This nexus introduces qualitatively new features: non-linear speed (eliminating critical reflection), toxic anonymity (reducing personal accountability), and the algorithmic accelerator role (creating self-reinforcing feedback loops of punishment). Consequently, digital punishment often lacks proportionality, due process, and temporal limits, functioning instead as a permanent digital stigma. As such, the sociology of punishment must take this new nexus between technology, surveillance, theatricality, and profit accumulation seriously as a fundamental domain for redefining power, resistance, and citizenship in the twenty-first century.

in the twenty-first century.
Keywords
Sociology of punishment
Cyberspace
Foucault
Discipline
Goffman
Presentation
Surveillance Capitalism
Subjects
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Research and development in criminal law and criminology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 May 2026