Fundamentals of Privacy as Contextual Integrity

Speaker: Prof. Helen Nissenbaum
Andrew H. & Ann R. Tisch Professor
Information Science, Cornell Tech
Director, Digital Life Initiative
Title: "Fundamentals of Privacy as Contextual Integrity"

Date: Wednesday, 13 November 2024

Time: 2:30pm - 4:30pm

Venue: Room 2405 (via lift 17/18), HKUST

Abstract:

The theory of contextual integrity (CI) defines privacy as appropriate flow 
of personal information. It is a definition that is meaningful to ordinary 
people and explains why privacy deserves protection through regulation and 
technology. CI releases privacy from popular one-dimensional definitions, 
such as, control over information about ourselves, stoppage of flow 
(secrecy), and protection of only “sensitive” attributes (e.g. identity, 
health.) My talk provides a high-level overview of CI, with a few examples of 
its application to human behavior and technology.


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Biography:

Helen Nissenbaum is a Professor of Information Science at Cornell Tech. Her 
research takes an ethical perspectives on policy, law, science, and 
engineering relating to information technology, computing, digital media and 
data science. Topics have included privacy, trust, accountability, security, 
and values in technology design. Her books include Obfuscation: A User's 
Guide for Privacy and Protest, with Finn Brunton (MIT Press, 2015) and 
Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of Social Life 
(Stanford, 2010). Grants from the NSF, AFOSR, and the U.S. DHHS-ONC have 
supported her work. Recipient of the 2014 Barwise Prize of the American 
Philosophical Association, Nissenbaum has contributed to privacy-enhancing 
software, including TrackMeNot and AdNauseam. Nissenbaum holds a Ph.D. in 
philosophy from Stanford University and a B.A. (Hons) in philosophy and 
mathematics from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.