The Price of Privacy Rivka Ribak Department of Communication University of Haifa, Israel

Outline The prevalent discourse About technology About globalization The Israeli case: research findings The argument: Privacy is a culturally-specific notion Its price is negotiated between local practices and global forces

The inevitable eye: Technological determinism Surveillance is inevitably implicated in advanced communication technology Evidence for this link may be found in The scope of academic publications on the issue The growth of data protection industry The recurrence of popular depictions of this link and its consequences

Big Brother comes from the US: Cultural Imperialism American culture is preoccupied with privacy This preoccupation is built into the technology produced for and by it Globalization consists of the spread of US technology, and the ideology that is embedded in it, to the world

Qualifying unidirectional determinism: Technology as a dialogic practice Privacy is constructed at the interface of hardware, software and user, as they are embedded in cultural and political contexts, over time Globalization as a dialogic practice Privacy is constructed at the meeting of local cultures and global political- economical forces, in history

The price of privacy: Two case studies — Captain Internet HaAretz supplement Discursive construction of privacy for/among Israeli surfers Cross-cultural inter-generational survey Privacy practices of Israeli parents and their adolescent children as compared to their US counterparts

Captain Internet Weekly supplement, March 1997 – April 2002 (Jan on-line edition)on-line edition As compared to being Wired, The Captain adopts a distant perspective:Wired Views the internet in the historical context of books, radio and television Is conscious of local practices that undermine global trends

The discourse of privacy Growth in the number of references: 11 in 1998 – 17 – 20 – 30 in 2001 The pragmatic discourse, translated into a calculation of “ the price, ” remains

Privacy and culture Privacy is a basic American value, 9.98 We ’ re Americans, that is, we ’ re right, 9.01 In Israel, privacy protection means storing your information in the closet, 8.99

Privacy and technology Doubtless there is nothing that concerns the average surfer more than the violation of his/her privacy, 6.01 Privacy is like the weather, 1.02 Information can be easily protected using software, 6.01

Privacy and the price You have zero privacy anyway, get over it (McNealy). Birnhak, 4.02 If the price of light is a little less privacy, then I am willing to pay it. Rafaeli, 2.02 If everybody would enter using nicknames, it would ruin it. Unger, 4.02

The survey In collaboration with Prof. Joe TurowProf. Joe Turow Questionnaire: 1,000 adults, 300 adolescents, US, January Questions translated into Hebrew Questionnaire: 1,000 adults, 300 children, Israel, January 2001 General perceptions and use patterns Ideas about privacy and practices of information exposure

Privacy findings: Cross-cultural resemblance Is it OK for a teenager to answer questions like these on a web site? Israelis tend to agree more; BUT For most items, no more than 40% of the parents in both cultures agree that their children will expose information Few parents in either culture are willing to expose this information themselves (20% of the Israelis, 24% in the US)

Privacy findings: Differences in the concern My concern about outsiders learning sensitive information has increased since we've gone online: 37%, 60% I am nervous about web sites having information about me: 52%, 72% When I go to a web site, it collects information about me even if I do not register: 31%, 54%

Privacy findings: Differences in loci of responsibility Teenagers should have to get their parents ’ consent before giving out information online: 80%, 96% Agree strongly: 43%, 84 I should have a legal right to know everything that a web site knows about me: 71%, 95% (43%, 88%) I look to see if a web site has a privacy policy before answering any questions: 46%, 72% (18%, 53%)

Privacy findings: Differences in experience Have any of your children ever given out information he or she shouldn ’ t to web sites? 47%, 10% Do you currently use an internet monitor on your home computer? 4%, 19% Have you heard of an internet monitor before? 33%, 78% If someone offered to help you put an internet monitor for free, would you want it? 43%, 82%

Findings: Access Have you personally ever gone on-line? 64%, 94% No significant differences between parents who do and do not surf Abilities to go on-line: similar Expert + advanced: 26%, 30% Intermediate + beginner: 64%, 66% I often worry that I won ’ t be able to explore the web with my children as well as other parents do: 48%, 26%

Findings: Differences in enthusiasm Access to the internet at home helps my children with their school work: 17%, 86% Online, my children discover fascinating, useful things: 10%, 85% The internet is a safe place for my children to spend time: 25%, 51%

Findings: Differences in concern Going online too often might lead children to become isolated from other people: 31%, 59% I am concerned that my children might view sexually explicit images on the internet: 28%, 72% View violent images: 31%, 62% I am concerned that children give out personal information when visiting web sites or chat rooms: 24%, 74%

Findings: Practice How often have you read a privacy policy on the web? 25%, 60% Have you ever bought anything over the internet? 30%, 53%

Conclusion: Cross-cultural differences Cross-cultural differences in: Appreciating the promise and the threat of the web Patterns of use The meaning of privacy THUS, technology does not determine (the price of) privacy

Conclusion: Complicated interrelationships Israeli parents: the kids are responsible US parents: tripartite responsibility — parents, state, suppliers Israeli parents: mellow US parents: enthusiastic, concerned Both resent excessive exposure THUS: Globalization works in many levels and directions

References, links, contact: Internet power and social context: A globalization approach to Web privacy concerns Rivka Ribak, Joseph Turow. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Washington: Sep Vol. 47, Iss. 3; pg. 328Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic MediaSep panorama/rivki.htm Video-conference lecture by Prof. Joseph Turow, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania: Americans and internet privacy, sponsored by CRI, Sept 26, 2003Prof. Joseph Turow Americans and internet privacyCRI

Thank You – Toda