What is self-surveillance?
When people monitor or censor their own behavior online (e.g., editing posts, acting “professional”).
What is the privacy paradox?
People say they care about privacy but still share large amounts of personal data.
What is self-branding?
Presenting yourself online like a “personal brand,” embracing visibility and surveillance for success.
Why might young people share despite privacy concerns?
Socialization, education, and employment often depend on social media use.
Why do people self-censor online?
They assume anything posted can become public regardless of settings.
People limit what they post or say online for privacy or reputation
Examples:
Making “fake” accounts (Finsta)
Deleting/editing old posts
Avoiding comments or sensitive words (like YouTubers saying “unalive”)
People care about privacy but still overshare online. Why?
3 reasons
- Don’t fully understand risks (who sees what).
- Lack of tech skills to protect data (changing settings, etc.).
- Social pressure — need to share for friends, jobs, or school.
Why is privacy partly out of individual control?
Others can tag, post about you, or ignore privacy settings.
Who is responsible for protecting personal data?
Responsibility is shared between individuals, platforms, and government.
What is the only guaranteed way to keep information private?
Not sharing it at all.
What is “networked privacy”?
Privacy depends on the behaviors of one’s social network and platform design—not just individual choices.
Why do users seem apathetic about privacy?
Not because they don’t care—because surveillance feels unavoidable and out of individual control.
What is self-branding?
Treating yourself like a brand, using platforms to curate an “edited” persona for social/economic gain.
What choice do users feel forced into?
Use the internet and accept surveillance, or avoid the internet entirely.
How do platforms encourage self-branding?
Through metrics: likes, views, followers, analytics, quantified reputation.
Why is self-branding a form of internalized surveillance?
People constantly monitor and edit themselves as if being watched.
What’s the flaw in “nothing to hide, nothing to fear”?
Privacy isn’t about hiding—it’s about protecting sensitive personal information.
closing blinds isn’t suspicious—it’s normal.
What’s Clearview AI, why is it controversial?
A facial-recognition company that scraped billions of online images for police use.
It conducted mass surveillance without consent and violated privacy laws globally.
What is the risk of combining facial recognition with AI-generated deepfakes?
You could create fake crime videos that falsely incriminate real people.
What counts as personal information under PIPEDA?
Any recorded or unrecorded info about an identifiable person (name, location, opinions, financial data, etc.).
Problems with PIPEDA
Companies collect excessive data, and “consent” is often vague or forced.
GDPR (Europe)
strongest privacy protection in the world, with strict rules and huge fines for violations.
Why is privacy essential for democracy?
Prevents manipulation, protects vulnerable groups, and maintains freedom to think and dissent.
What PIPEDA doesn’t cover:
- Gov’t data (different law)
- Business contact info
- Personal use (ex: keeping addresses for Christmas cards)
- Journalism/artistic/literary purposes
