Katharine Jarmul - Practical Data Privacy (Final Release)

by Katharine Jarmul

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[LSI]

Given the multitude of benefits that come with digital connectivity, it is not always apparent that waves of futuristic tech have also brought an undertow of drawbacks. Instant messaging, biometric scanning, real-time motion-tracking, digital payments, and more, were, after all, the stuff of sci-fi fantasies.

For those of us who work in technology (or just consume it), the cool factor of integrating digital tools into our daily routines is difficult to deny. But the other side of digitally connected living is the right to unplug. To hear some first-generation tech millionaires tell it, preventing their kids from going online at home and at school is highly desirable. That may sound strange, especially if youre used to hearing about the digital divide as a chasm between people with multiple Apple products versus have-nots who lack 24/7 high-speed internet. In fact, with so many of our everyday interactions having gone digital, its a challenge for most of us to function without unlimited online access.

Using digital tools and accessing online spaces is sold to us today the same way it was at the dawn of the internet: as a drop-in experience thats completely voluntary and fun. But nothing is fun about an internet experience that feels like a stay at the Hotel Californiayou can check out any time you want, but you can never leave. Nothing is fair about an online world that restricts your offline life in terms of what you can see, what you can do, and how you might be treated. The idea that we are choosing to drop in on the internet world for a casual set of interactions is no longer true: if anything, were often obliged to navigate a highway jam-packed with data about ourselves and others.

Many of us incorrectly assume that our data is uninteresting to anyone else. But thats when we dont see the full picture of how todays apps and algorithms hoard our data to connect where we live, what we earn, who we date, and whether weve had mental health problems or a sexually transmitted infection. Thats when we dont realize that the predictive function of algorithms is usually used to profile us using data that weve willingly and also unknowingly provided, so as to sell us (or prevent us from accessing) financial products, insurance coverage, jobs, homes, or potential romantic partners.