Spotlight: the European AI Act
The Plunk Foundation is excited to introduce a resource to help you navigate the complexities of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act...
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What Is The Digital Divide In Data Privacy?
The digital divide is unequal access to technology and resources that enable individuals and communities to protect their personal information and privacy online.
This divide is often seen in lower-income or rural areas where access to high-speed internet, education on data privacy, and affordable security measures may be limited.
The TED talk by Fred Cate, Vice President of Research at Indiana University explains why privacy law is so complicated. Further reading on how this affects vulnerable populations are provided on our website.
Who are affected the most by a lack of data privacy ?
Children
Women
Those Experiencing
Poverty
Marginalized
Communities
The Risk | Trafficking, Identity
theft, selling of personal data
The Risk | Harassment,
Stalking, and trafficking
The Risk | Debt resulting from breaches.
The Risk | discrimination bias embedded in privacy tools
The cost of doing nothing
$10,029
is the average cost of a data breach
IBM Data Breach Report 2022
Low-income
individuals are more vulnerable to data breaches
United States Department of Justice
31%
of people don't feel private online
Pew Research Center
69%
of parents upload photographs of their children aged 0-8 year old on social media
Ofcom Media Report 2022
Free apps share
more data than paid ones
7x
Icogni Android App Review 2021
40%
of sex trafficking victims are recruited online
Washington University Law Review
References IBM. (2023). IBM Security: Cost of a Data Breach Report. Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach Incogni Blog. (n.d.). New Year Resolutions Apps Research. Retrieved from https://blog.incogni.com/new-year-resolutions-apps-research/ Ofcom. (2022). Children's Media Use and Attitudes Report 2022. Retrieved from https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/234609/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2022.pdf Rainie, L., & Anderson, M. (2019). Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over Their Personal Information. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information/ U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.). Official Website. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/ Ohm, P. (2010). Broken Promises of Privacy: Responding to the Surprising Failure of Anonymization. Washington University Law Review, 88(3), 599-606. Retrieved from https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6265&context=law_lawreview
What do the leading experts say about closing the Data-Privacy Gap?
The Center For Humane Technology
The Brookings Institute
The Brookings Institute has appointed Dr. Turner Lee to address the current state of the digital divide.
Dr. Turner Lee emphasizes the importance of comprehensive dgital inclusion programs that go beyond mere acess to technology. These initiatives shouldaddress barriers such as affordability, digital literacy, and kills development. She advocates for partnerships between government, privacy sector, and community organzaitons to provide digital training programs and resources.
Nicol Turner Lee
Senior Fellow - Governance Studies
Director - Center for Technology Innovation
The Mozilla Foundation
The Mozilla Foundation believes that the solution to generating increased data privacy is to promote a “Data Dividend” model where users are compensated for their personal data, support privacy-enhancing technologies, and advocate for policies that protect user privacy, such as strong data protection laws and user control over their personal data.
The Mozilla Team
The Center for Humane Technology believes that the solution to increasing humane technology is to advocate for design that prioritizes human well-being, foster public awareness about the impact of technology on society, and create policies that promote ethical and humane technology practices.
This involves a mix of policy leaders, UX and UI designers, and tech executives to choose technology that protects a user’s right to privacy.
Tristan Harris
Co-founder & Executive Director | the Center for Humane Technology
Building privacy-centric open-source technology
Promoting awareness and education of data privacy literacy
Forging Strategic
Partnerships regarding privacy-first principles
Data Privacy Resources
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