Digital Surveillance and Privacy Concerns the Changing Dynamics of Trust in Modern Societies: A Mediation Moderation Model

Abstract

In the digital era of transformation, surveillance technologies have reformed the texture of modern societies and initiated serious questions around privacy and trust in institution and modern societies. This research explores the complex linkages among digital surveillance, concerns for privacy, regulatory environment, and institutional public trust using the mediation-moderation framework. Based on the Communication Privacy Management (CPM) Theory, the research conceptualizes how individuals judge and navigate intimate information while perpetually facing digital surveillance. Utilizing a quantitative research approach, data were collected from 220 Pakistani and Chinese university students through structured online questionnaires developed by using validated Measurement Scales. The Correlation result indicates that these is negative impact of Digital Surveillance on the Trust in modern Societies. Mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro (Model 4) also supported that digital surveillance has a strong negative effect on public trust (β = –0.33, p = .001), with privacy concern as a significant mediator (indirect effect = –0.21, 95% CI [–0.31, –0.12]). In addition, analysis of moderation established that regulatory framework act as buffers to this impact since the interaction term was found to be significant (β = 0.18, p =.003), showing weaker regulatory environments weaken trust eroded by surveillance. The findings accentuate that concerns about privacy sharpen distrust in environments with heavy surveillance, but adequate regulatory frameworks block this effect. This work makes theoretical contributions by applying CPM Theory in institutional settings and provides policy suggestions for policymakers and digital platform engineers. It stresses the need for open, transparent data governance in order to revive and maintain confidence in the era of the internet.