This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/opinion/privacy-feminism.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| What Women Know About the Internet | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Like too many women, I’ve been harassed online. The harasser described in explicit detail how he intended to violate me, though somehow his threats didn’t violate Twitter’s terms of service. Twitter, despite my repeated reports, did nothing. | Like too many women, I’ve been harassed online. The harasser described in explicit detail how he intended to violate me, though somehow his threats didn’t violate Twitter’s terms of service. Twitter, despite my repeated reports, did nothing. |
| So I did. I gradually tightened my privacy settings across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I mostly stopped sharing personal, nonwork-related updates and deleted photos of my children; I haven’t posted new pictures for more than a year. | So I did. I gradually tightened my privacy settings across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I mostly stopped sharing personal, nonwork-related updates and deleted photos of my children; I haven’t posted new pictures for more than a year. |
| I’m a tech journalist, so perhaps I am extra-sensitive to the dangers of the internet. But my concerns are widely shared by other women. | I’m a tech journalist, so perhaps I am extra-sensitive to the dangers of the internet. But my concerns are widely shared by other women. |
| Several studies have found that women are more concerned about privacy risks online than men and are more likely to keep their profiles private and delete unwanted contacts. Female Italian college students are less likely to share their political views and relationship status than men and are more concerned about risks posed by other users and third parties. Norwegian women post fewer selfies than Norwegian men. | Several studies have found that women are more concerned about privacy risks online than men and are more likely to keep their profiles private and delete unwanted contacts. Female Italian college students are less likely to share their political views and relationship status than men and are more concerned about risks posed by other users and third parties. Norwegian women post fewer selfies than Norwegian men. |
| In other words, digital privacy is a women’s issue. We just don’t think about it that way, or discuss it that way. Of course, privacy is a concern for everyone, but this is also an issue, like health care, on which women have a particular view. Women know, for example, what consent really means. It’s not scrolling through seemingly endless “terms of service” and then checking a box. Online consent, just as it is with our bodies, should be clear, informed and a requirement for online platforms. | In other words, digital privacy is a women’s issue. We just don’t think about it that way, or discuss it that way. Of course, privacy is a concern for everyone, but this is also an issue, like health care, on which women have a particular view. Women know, for example, what consent really means. It’s not scrolling through seemingly endless “terms of service” and then checking a box. Online consent, just as it is with our bodies, should be clear, informed and a requirement for online platforms. |
| These views are shaped by the reality that women experience the internet differently, just as the experience of walking down a dark alley, or even a busy street, is different for women than it is for men. One Pew study found that women are far more likely to be sexually harassed online and describe these interactions as extremely upsetting. The Department of Justice reports that about 75 percent of the victims of stalking and cyberstalking are women. And so women look over our shoulders online, just as we do in real life. | These views are shaped by the reality that women experience the internet differently, just as the experience of walking down a dark alley, or even a busy street, is different for women than it is for men. One Pew study found that women are far more likely to be sexually harassed online and describe these interactions as extremely upsetting. The Department of Justice reports that about 75 percent of the victims of stalking and cyberstalking are women. And so women look over our shoulders online, just as we do in real life. |
| It isn’t just that real-life harassment also shows up online, it’s that the internet isn’t designed for women, even when the majority of users of some popular applications and platforms are women. In fact, some features of digital life have been constructed, intentionally or not, in ways that make women feel less safe. | It isn’t just that real-life harassment also shows up online, it’s that the internet isn’t designed for women, even when the majority of users of some popular applications and platforms are women. In fact, some features of digital life have been constructed, intentionally or not, in ways that make women feel less safe. |
| For example, you can’t easily use Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service without a phone number, which many women don’t want to share. Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has promised to build encrypted communication into all its platforms. Just as important is giving users the option to make their messages disappear, so that if a hostile ex somehow got into your phone there would be nothing to see. | For example, you can’t easily use Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service without a phone number, which many women don’t want to share. Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has promised to build encrypted communication into all its platforms. Just as important is giving users the option to make their messages disappear, so that if a hostile ex somehow got into your phone there would be nothing to see. |
| Even well-meaning efforts at transparency don’t always work that way for women. Lyft’s car pool service shares the registered names of passengers with everyone else in the car. The first name of an incoming passenger flashes in lights across the dashboard, a feature intended to let riders know they are in the right car. A privacy researcher told me that she once jumped into a Lyft shared ride wearing a sweatshirt with her company’s logo. The next day, she received an email from a male passenger saying, “I found you!” Clearly, he had been able to use her first name and the name of her company to track her down online. | Even well-meaning efforts at transparency don’t always work that way for women. Lyft’s car pool service shares the registered names of passengers with everyone else in the car. The first name of an incoming passenger flashes in lights across the dashboard, a feature intended to let riders know they are in the right car. A privacy researcher told me that she once jumped into a Lyft shared ride wearing a sweatshirt with her company’s logo. The next day, she received an email from a male passenger saying, “I found you!” Clearly, he had been able to use her first name and the name of her company to track her down online. |
| What he may have thought was cute, she thought was creepy. “Do I have any control over this interaction?” the researcher asked. “You want control over the self you’re putting online, just like you want control over your body.” Note to Lyft: Some passengers would be safer if they were anonymous. | What he may have thought was cute, she thought was creepy. “Do I have any control over this interaction?” the researcher asked. “You want control over the self you’re putting online, just like you want control over your body.” Note to Lyft: Some passengers would be safer if they were anonymous. |
| With Congress considering whether to consider new privacy regulations, it is important that the specific concerns of women be taken into account now, while the rules are being debated and drafted. | With Congress considering whether to consider new privacy regulations, it is important that the specific concerns of women be taken into account now, while the rules are being debated and drafted. |
| [As technology advances, will it continue to blur the lines between public and private? Sign up for Charlie Warzel’s limited-run newsletter to explore what’s at stake and what you can do about it.] | [As technology advances, will it continue to blur the lines between public and private? Sign up for Charlie Warzel’s limited-run newsletter to explore what’s at stake and what you can do about it.] |
| California’s new privacy law is a case in point: It is a bold piece of legislation, but it falls short for women. In the event of a data breach, for example, consumers in California will have the right to sue if certain kinds of personally identifying information, like Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers, are compromised. But that may not include material like intimate emails or explicit photos. The current iteration of the law is so murky that it’s not clear whether Jennifer Lawrence, the actress whose nude photos were stolen from her iCloud account in 2014 and made public, would have a case against Apple if a similar incident occurred after the law goes into effect next year. | California’s new privacy law is a case in point: It is a bold piece of legislation, but it falls short for women. In the event of a data breach, for example, consumers in California will have the right to sue if certain kinds of personally identifying information, like Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers, are compromised. But that may not include material like intimate emails or explicit photos. The current iteration of the law is so murky that it’s not clear whether Jennifer Lawrence, the actress whose nude photos were stolen from her iCloud account in 2014 and made public, would have a case against Apple if a similar incident occurred after the law goes into effect next year. |
| California’s “right to be forgotten” also doesn’t go as far as Europe’s new privacy legislation, the most sweeping data reform in history. Under the California law, consumers have the right to delete information they personally provide to companies. But if someone else — say, an unhappy ex — posted something about me online, I would not be able to get that taken down. Under Europe’s new law, though, I would at least be able to request such a post be removed. | California’s “right to be forgotten” also doesn’t go as far as Europe’s new privacy legislation, the most sweeping data reform in history. Under the California law, consumers have the right to delete information they personally provide to companies. But if someone else — say, an unhappy ex — posted something about me online, I would not be able to get that taken down. Under Europe’s new law, though, I would at least be able to request such a post be removed. |
| Although women’s groups have defended privacy as it pertains to abortion, they haven’t yet broadly taken up the issue of digital privacy. Among the few to do so publicly is a grass-roots effort called Catalina’s List, a backer of the California law. “Anything that gives big business an upper hand on individual choices is corrupting the idea of personal choice, freedom and privacy,” a co-founder of Catalina’s List, Bobbi Jo Chavarria, told me. | Although women’s groups have defended privacy as it pertains to abortion, they haven’t yet broadly taken up the issue of digital privacy. Among the few to do so publicly is a grass-roots effort called Catalina’s List, a backer of the California law. “Anything that gives big business an upper hand on individual choices is corrupting the idea of personal choice, freedom and privacy,” a co-founder of Catalina’s List, Bobbi Jo Chavarria, told me. |
| Weaker federal privacy legislation could eventually override the California law. Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft all contributed money to groups opposing the California law, and last year these companies and Apple spent more than $64 million lobbying Congress on privacy and other issues. Tech companies are pushing for what they want; as the research shows, that’s not necessarily what women want. | Weaker federal privacy legislation could eventually override the California law. Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft all contributed money to groups opposing the California law, and last year these companies and Apple spent more than $64 million lobbying Congress on privacy and other issues. Tech companies are pushing for what they want; as the research shows, that’s not necessarily what women want. |
| So what can Americans do? First, we must elect more women to positions of power who can help write privacy legislation. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two of the top digital policymakers in Europe are women, including Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, and Elizabeth Denham, Britain’s information commissioner. | So what can Americans do? First, we must elect more women to positions of power who can help write privacy legislation. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two of the top digital policymakers in Europe are women, including Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, and Elizabeth Denham, Britain’s information commissioner. |
| The law, of course, will never be as fast as tech companies. They should build products and services that respect privacy by design. To do that, these companies need to hire and consult more women. Women hold just 25 percent of jobs across the tech industry and an even smaller percentage of prime engineering roles. | The law, of course, will never be as fast as tech companies. They should build products and services that respect privacy by design. To do that, these companies need to hire and consult more women. Women hold just 25 percent of jobs across the tech industry and an even smaller percentage of prime engineering roles. |
| Most important, all of us must start thinking about privacy as a feminist issue. We cannot wait for women’s concerns to be addressed. The stakes for us are far too high. | Most important, all of us must start thinking about privacy as a feminist issue. We cannot wait for women’s concerns to be addressed. The stakes for us are far too high. |
| Emily Chang (@emilychangtv) is an anchor at Bloomberg TV and the author of “Brotopia.” | Emily Chang (@emilychangtv) is an anchor at Bloomberg TV and the author of “Brotopia.” |
| Follow @privacyproject on Twitter and The New York Times Opinion Section on Facebook and Instagram. | Follow @privacyproject on Twitter and The New York Times Opinion Section on Facebook and Instagram. |