Data privacy, online protection focus of Brock forum

A panel of experts came together at Brock on Wednesday, March 15 to discuss the significance of online data privacy and what we can do to protect ourselves. Keynote speaker Andrew Hilts, Executive Director at Open Effect, explored what goes on “behind the screen” and discussed issues of surveillance, data integrity, digital capacity and human rights online. Hilts addressed mobile devices, fitness trackers and data security while demonstrating effective tools he developed for Internet users, such as Access My Info (accessmyinfo.org). Natasha Tusikov, Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Brock, discussed her recently published book, “Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet.” She examined the informal practices and policies by Internet firms and the sharing of personal information with third parties. Karen Louise Smith, Assistant Professor of Communication, Popular Culture and Film at Brock, explored the development of digital policy literacy with youth. The discussion was hosted by the Transmedia Research Network within the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film and was funded by the Council of Research in the Social Sciences within the Faculty of Social Sciences.