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> What makes you worry about privacy? The science of Privacy Concerns

Worrying about your privacy has become a regular activity for many. Everyone and everything seems to want your personal information. But why does that make you uncomfortable? And why does it change based on the situation? In this article we explore one of the most important ideas in privacy research: Privacy Concerns.


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> The nymity slider - A simple visualisation of a complex concept

Privacy is a really interesting subject, but some of its terminology can be difficult to access. That's why I want to share the nymity slider with you. The nymity slider is a tool to visualise the amount of identifiable information in an interaction. It allows us to assess the level of privacy in a transaction that's easy to grasp regardless of privacy expertise. We will see how the nymity slider can help in designing systems and identifying privacy risks, with a free worksheet at the end.


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> Tracing the Dutch history of 'privacy' through newspaper archives

Recently I came across the Dutch Wikipedia page for privacy. It mentions that one of the major dictionaries states that the word privacy appeared in the Dutch language after 1950. However, the Dutch National Library archives show that privacy can be traced back to at least 1884 as a foreign term. It's used on its own in the Dutch language since at least 1912. Let's take a walk through privacy history in Dutch newspapers.


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> Privacy by Design and Default isn't free

Having the right data is crucial in running an online business. It supports decision-making with evidence. In my striving for privacy I've been exploring the idea of privacy as core part of online business models. We have data about privacy violations, from data breaches to unjustly collected data, but not on privacy-friendly practices. And that's an issue.


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> Crossing the line with life event data

What I remember most from my university graduation is the happiness of reaching a major milestone in life. Sharing it with my friends and family was an important part of that experience. It was posted to Facebook, I updated my LinkedIn profile, I got ready for my first job. What I didn't realise then was how marketeers would use that data to try and influence my life.


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> EU2019: Which MEPs voted in favour of digital rights?

With the European elections in two weeks, it's astounding how little the campaigns talk about digital rights. Just two months ago, thousands of people took to the street to protest Article 13. They were backed up by 5 million signatures on an online petition. They stood up for digital rights, only for our representative politicians to keep quiet. If they won't talk about them, we can at least look at how they acted: by analysing their voting history.


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> Behind-the-screens of malware analysis

Over 350.000 new malicious programs are detected every day, built to exploit your devices. Ransomware attacks cause hospitals to shut down and inflict hundreds of millions in damages. Whilst malware has become more sophisticated, so have our defenders. There is a whole community out there fighting to keep our networks and PCs safe. Join me and ransomware researcher Fabian Wosar for a look into the world of anti-malware.


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> Unjust Technology Legislation III - Analysis of Article 13

From silently pushed legislation to serious public critiques, the history of technology legislation has seen it all. The EU prepares to take it one step further by wanting platforms to use unproven technology to protect economic interests. Article 13 of the new Copyright Directive is setting up for disappointment.


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> Unjust Technology Legislation II - The public reaction

In the second part of this series, we take a look at technology legislation after 9/11 and the American response. All but one of the laws discussed were drafted before the full scope of US surveillance became known. Even so, the public began to speak up. Starting in the European Union, public action soon spread to the rest of the world. Before we knew it, there were massive worldwide protests.


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> Unjust Technology Legislation I - Everyone is presumed guilty

You are innocent until proven guilty, or until you decide to go online. The internet used to be a haven of free expression. Now it’s a place where every individual is suspected of being a terrorist or a pirate. Governments are caught up in an arms race of mass surveillance and hardly anyone appears to stop and think about the direction we’re heading in. It’s time to take a critical look at the technology legislation that undermines the core principles of a free society.