cpw webinar 2011-mz

Choose Privacy Week Webinar:Privacy “Hot Topics” and Programs to Educate & Engage Library Users

Agenda for Today

• Welcome and Overview: Angela Maycock• Reader Privacy: Deborah Caldwell-Stone• TSA and Surveillance: Ginger McCall• Youth Privacy Attitudes: Michael Zimmer• Q&A and Discussion

Youth Privacy Attitudes

• Dispelling myths• Understanding contradictions & complexities• Addressing challenges

Michael Zimmer, PhDAssistant Professor, School of Information Studies

Co-Director, Center for Information Policy ResearchUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

www.michaelzimmer.orgcipr.uwm.edu

Myths of Youth & Privacy

• “Kids don’t care about privacy”• “Young people will share anything – and

everything – online”• “Kids’ lack of privacy will affect their attitudes

as they grow up” – a generational shift• “Kids are ‘digital natives’, and don’t need any

help with technology or online life”

Michael Zimmer :: michaelzimmer.org

Myth: Kids Don’t Care about Privacy

• Yes, 55% of online teens have created a personal profile on social networking sites

• But, 66% of teens who have created a profile say that their profile is not visible to all internet users

• They limit access to their personal information

“Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks”Pew Internet & American Life, 2007Michael Zimmer :: michaelzimmer.org

Myth: Kids Share Anything & Everything

• Yes, large percentages post photos, hometown, school, IM name….and webcams– Less than 1/3 post email address or last name– Only 2% post cellphone number

• Of those whose profile can be accessed by anyone online, nearly half (46%) say they give at least some false information

• Teens post fake information to protect themselves (and also to be playful or silly)

“Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks”Pew Internet & American Life, 2007Michael Zimmer :: michaelzimmer.org

Myth: Kids’ lack of privacy will affect their attitudes as they grow up

• Young adult’s (18-24) attitudes toward privacy don’t differ from those of all adults as much as we had thought.

• In many cases, they barely differ at all.

“How Different are Young Adults from Older Adults When it Comes to Information Privacy Attitudes and Policies?”Chris Hoofnagle, Jennifer King, Su Li, and Joseph Turow, 2010Michael Zimmer :: michaelzimmer.org


• “Have you ever refused to give information to a business or a company because you thought it was not really necessary or was too personal?”– All: 88% – Young adults: 82%


“How Different are Young Adults from Older Adults When it Comes to Information Privacy Attitudes and Policies?”Chris Hoofnagle, Jennifer King, Su Li, and Joseph Turow, 2010


• “Generally speaking, anyone who uploads a photo or video of me to the internet where I am clearly recognizable should first get my permission.”– All: 86% – Young adults: 84%




• “Do you think there should be a law that requires websites and advertising companies to delete all stored information about an individual, or do you feel such a law is not necessary?”– All: 92% – Young adults: 88%




• “Compared to five years ago, would you say you are more concerned about privacy issues on the internet, less concerned, or that you have the same level of concern?”– All: 55% more concerned (only 6% less)– Young adults: 54% more (9% less)



Contradictions & Complexities

• “Young-adult Americans have an aspiration for increased privacy even while they participate in an online reality that is optimized to increase their revelation of personal data.”



Complexity: Privacy & Context• To teens, all personal information is not created equal.

They say it is very important to understand the context of an information-sharing encounter

• Privacy is no longer simply keeping something secret• No longer a clean dichotomy between public and private.• Privacy is contextual; willing to share some information

in some contexts; but not all information in all context

“Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks”Pew Internet & American Life, 2007

Nissenbaum, “Privacy in Context”Michael Zimmer :: michaelzimmer.org

Complexity: Privacy & Context

• But our information-sharing tools make it hard to treat privacy as contextual– On Facebook, friendship is binary, and very difficult to

segment friends into different groups (contexts) to manage information flows

– Facebook changes the rules, so when information was placed on profile with one context in mind (friends only), changes in the platform shatter those contextual boundaries


Addressing Challenges

• Empowering youth to control their personal information flows online

• Educating parents and teachers• Advocating for ethical design


Challenge: Empowering Youth

• Youth need “digital literacy” – they are not all digital natives– Understand how the technology (Facebook) works,

and the business models embedded in them– Understand how to adjust privacy settings, manage

multiple profiles, limit information flows– Understand what protections they have (and what

they don’t)• Youth are more likely to believe that the law (or a privacy

policy) protects them when in reality it does not.


Challenge: Educating Parents/Teachers

• Need the same “digital literacy” as youth• Also need to understand that simply keeping

kids “off the Internet” isn’t a workable solution– Work with their kids to understand the platforms

together– Build trust, not surveillance


Challenge: Advocating for Ethical Design

• Work with Facebook, Google, etc to ensure tools are designed to protect privacy– Simplify controls– Plain-language policies– Limit collection and flow of information

• Work with libraries and schools to build tools that empower youth & privacy– NYPL Facebook applications


Youth Privacy Attitudes

• Dispelling myths• Understanding contradictions & complexities• Addressing challenges

Michael Zimmer, PhDAssistant Professor, School of Information Studies

Co-Director, Center for Information Policy ResearchUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

www.michaelzimmer.orgcipr.uwm.edu

Youth & Privacy Resources

• Pew Internet & American Life Project – Teen studies• http://pewinternet.org/topics/Teens.aspx

• Youth, Privacy and Reputation (Literature Review)• http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1588163

• How Different are Young Adults from Older Adults When it Comes to Information Privacy Attitudes and Policies?

• http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1589864

• Publications & presentations by danah boyd (Microsoft Research)

• http://www.danah.org/papers/Michael Zimmer :: michaelzimmer.org

Get Connected!

• Connect with Choose Privacy Week online:– privacyrevolution.org– twitter.com/privacyala– facebook.com/chooseprivacyweek

cpw webinar 2011-mz

Education