Reclaiming Social Networking

A Presentation on the Privacy Revolution

Mae Beerman • 4/1/15

The Privacy Revolution● growing sensitivity of consumers to websites that share or sell information

○ secret subject testing*, data mining, NSA ○ awareness that dependence on technology = the expense of privacy

● 2014 Harris Interactive poll● TRUSTe 2014 Privacy Index

Facebook Manipulation Experiment

Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2015● February 27, 2015: White House released draft of privacy and data security legislation

○ Transparency*■ Provide easily understandable and timely notices about privacy and security practices

○ Individual Control*■ Provide individuals with reasonable means to control the processing of their personal data

○ Respect for Context■ If personal data is processed in a manner that is not reasonable in light of its “context,” the Act would

require the entity to conduct a privacy risk analysis and provide individuals with “heightened transparency and individual control”

○ Focused Collection and Responsible Use■ Entities would have to delete, destroy, or de-identify personal data within a reasonable time after

fulfilling the purposes for which the data were collected○ Security*

■ To secure personal data, entities would be required to conduct security risk assessments and implement reasonable security safeguards

○ Access and Accuracy■ Entities would be required to provide individuals with reasonable access to the personal data about them

that the entities control○ Accountability

■ Provide training to employees, conduct privacy assessments, adopt privacy by design processes and take other reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the Act

Highlighting 3 Social Networks

● Ex. WhatsApp, Snapchat, YikYak, Whisper, Telegram, Bitcoin ● Ello (March 2014)● tsū (October 2014)● MeWe (October 2014)

Facebook’s Real Name Policy

● September 2014

Facebook’s Real Name Policy

Facebook’s Real Name Policy

Facebook’s Real Name Policy

● saying sorry

when problems arise

Ello● “The anti-Facebook”

● Never sell user data to advertisers or third parties

● Never show advertisements

● Not enforce a real-name policy

● Beta release is invite-only

● Seed funding of $435,000 from FreshTracks Capital (January 2014)

● Freemium model

● Listening, transparency, porosity

Groundswell Test: Ello1. Does it enable people to connect with each other in new ways? Yes.

2. Is it effortless to sign up for? It will be.

3. Does it shift power from institutions to people? Yes.

4. Does the community generate enough content to sustain itself? Yes.

5. Is it an open platform that invites partnerships? Not yet.

● Groundswell score: 3.5/5

tsū

● Invite-only platform that rewards social activity

● $7 million investment led by Sancus Capital Prive

● Splits ad revenue with users, pays for actively posting

○ 10% tsū, 90% users

○ +engagement +views = +90%

● Transparency, porosity, “playbor”, word-of-mouth

Groundswell Test: tsū1. Does it enable people to connect with each other in new ways? Yes.

2. Is it effortless to sign up for? Not quite.

3. Does it shift power from institutions to people? Yes.

4. Does the community generate enough content to sustain itself? Yes.

5. Is it an open platform that invites partnerships? Not yet.

● Groundswell score: 3/5

MeWe

● Online privacy company, Sgrouples® Inc.

● Built on safety, trust, and respect

● No sharing with third-party advertisers, search providers, and ad

networks ("Advertisers")

● “You own your content. We don’t. All your content belongs to you.”

● Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of World Wide Web

● Freemium model

● Transparency, porosity

Groundswell Test: MeWe1. Does it enable people to connect with each other in new ways? Yes.

2. Is it effortless to sign up for? Yes.

3. Does it shift power from institutions to people? Yes.

4. Does the community generate enough content to sustain itself? Yes.

5. Is it an open platform that invites partnerships? Not yet.

● Groundswell score: 4/5

Will you be signing up?

● Questions? Comments?

Thank you to Professor Julie Frechette & my colleagues

for a great semester.

Bibliographyhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2015/01/09/can-the-privacy-revolution-prevail/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/the-privacy-revolt-the-gr_b_6895338.html

https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/02/jame-bartlett-the-coming-online-privacy-revolution/

http://www.hldataprotection.com/2015/03/articles/consumer-privacy/insights-on-the-consumer-privacy-bill-of-rights-act-of-2015/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/cpbr-act-of-2015-discussion-draft.pdf

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/10/01/3574813/facebook-apology-drag-names/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/facebook-name-change_n_5916336.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2805486/A-golden-Ello-Ad-free-Facebook-killer-social-network-raises-5-5m.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ello_%28social_network%29

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/06/facebook_unethical_experiment_it_made_news_feeds_happier_or_sadder_to_manipulate.html