⭐If you aren’t aware, I launched a privacy knowledge base page on my website. It’s a list that contains a ton of tools and resources that are privacy-friendly. It’s a way to share my growing privacy knowledge and make more people aware of privacy itself. Check it out!
Recently, I completed Data Privacy Fundamentals by Dr. Woodrow Hartzog from Northeastern University on Coursera. I do think it was a bit outdated (it was published in either 2019 or 2020 and hasn’t been updated since). As someone who's already familiar with the basics of data privacy, I found that much of the course material wasn't new to me, however, it doesn’t hurt to get a refresher. Nevertheless, the course does provide a solid introduction and can still be useful for those who are looking for a general overview of data privacy.
One of the most important questions that the course addressed is perhaps one that answers the question of what privacy is and why it’s constantly under threat: why privacy matters? According to Dr. Hartzog, he provides the following:
“Our privacy matters because it gives us the space that we need to flourish as human beings.”
“Privacy gives us the freedom to read, learn, and express ourselves without worrying about who might be watching. It gives us the ability to experiment, play, and fail without the mistakes of our past haunting us forever.”
“It gives us the ability to place our trust in others so that we might shop, socialize, be intimate with each other, and form strong bonds that keep our community strong, our democracy flourishing, and our lives enriched.”
Conclusion: “Without privacy, we cannot properly function as a society or as individuals.”
As the quotes make apparent, it is more vital than ever to protect our privacy. We cannot just let Big Tech, governments, and others continue to chip away our privacy when so much is at stake. By gaining further knowledge of privacy, we can take the necessary steps to safeguard our rights.
Got anything more to add about why privacy matters? Let me know in the comments.
Until Next Time,
Monique 🔐
🎓The course Data Privacy Fundamentals by Dr. Woodrow Hartzog from Northeastern University, is free on Coursera. If you are interested in enrolling, you can do so using this link.
4 Social Media Posts that Explain What Privacy is
One of the purposes of this newsletter is to gain and share knowledge about privacy and how to protect it. But I realized that I never really defined what is privacy. Perhaps that’s because privacy takes a different meaning for everyone and there is no one way to describe it. But I feel that these four social media posts that I …
I didn't know Professor Hartzog had an online course. I might scan through it -- could be useful for folks new to privacy and data protection, despite the potentially dated material.