Operationalizing Contextual Integrity - January 2021

PI(s), Co-PI(s), Researchers:

• Serge Egelman (ICSI)
• Primal Wijesekera (ICSI)
• Alisa Frik (ICSI)
• Julia Bernd (ICSI)
• Helen Nissenbaum (Cornell Tech)

HARD PROBLEM(S) ADDRESSED
Human Behavior, Metrics, Policy-Governed Secure Collaboration, and Scalability and Comporsability.

PUBLICATIONS

• Frik, A., J. Bernd, N. Alomar, S. Egelman. 2020. A Qualitative Model of Older Adults' Contextual Decision-Making About Information Sharing. Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS'20).
• Bernd J., R. Abu-Salma, A. Frik. 2020. Bystanders' Privacy: The Perspectives of Nannies on Smart Home Surveillance. 2020 USENIX Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet (FOCI '20).

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The sharing of information between older adults and their friends, families, caregivers, and doctors promotes a collaborative approach to managing their emotional, mental, and physical well-being and health, prolonging independent living and improving care quality and quality of life in general. However, information flow in collaborative systems is complex, not always transparent to elderly users, and may raise privacy and security concerns. Because older adults' decisions about whether to engage in information exchange affects interpersonal communications and delivery of care, it is important to understand the factors that influence those decisions. While a body of existing literature has explored the information sharing expectations and preferences of the general population, specific research on the perspectives of older adults is less comprehensive. Our work contributes empirical evidence and suggests a systematic approach.
  
  In a paper (reference below), we present the results of semi-structured interviews with 46 older adults age 65+ about their views on information collection, transmission, and sharing using traditional ICT and emerging technologies (such as smart speakers, wearable health trackers, etc.). Based on analysis of this qualitative data, we develop a detailed model of the contextual factors that combine in complex ways to affect older adults' decision-making about information sharing. We also discuss how our comprehensive model compares to existing frameworks for analyzing information sharing expectations and preferences.
  
  Finally, we suggest directions for future research and describe practical implications of our model for the design and evaluation of collaborative information-sharing systems, as well as for policy and consumer protection. Specifically, we propose ways that product developers could use the model to identify and mitigate potential privacy impacts of their products, such as prompts based on the individual factors.
  
  The draft is in preparation for submission to a journal, such as Transactions on Privacy and Security
  
• The increasing use of smart home devices affects the privacy not only of device owners, but also of individuals who did not choose to deploy them, and may not even be aware of them. Some smart home devices and systems, especially those with cameras, can be used for remote surveillance of, for example, domestic employees. Domestic workers represent a special case of bystanders' privacy, due to the blending of home, work, and care contexts, and employer-employee power differentials. To examine the experiences, perspectives, and privacy concerns of domestic workers, we begin with a case study of nannies and of parents who employ nannies.
  
  We are analyzing the transcripts of 26 interviews with nannies and au pairs about their experiences with smart devices in their employers' homes, and their attitudes, expectations, and preferences with regard to data collection in smart homes. Our goal in this case study is to examine what factors in this combined home/workplace/caregiving context impact employers' and employees' data-sharing choices, and how such choices and attitudes reflect or change power dynamics in their relationships. We also aim to identify potential points of intervention (technical and social) for better respecting bystanders' privacy preferences.
  
  We are planning a research agenda to integrate the concerns of bystanders into our work with smart home product developers, including experimental interventions to prompt more attention to the issue in design.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

• The research agenda (before the results were obtained) was also presented at the following workshops:

  • 2019 Symposium on Applications of Contextual Integrity

  • 2020 CHI Workshop 'Privacy and Power: Acknowledging the Importance of Privacy Research and Design for Vulnerable Populations'

EDUCATIONAL ADVANCES:

• This project is forming the basis of Nathan Malkin's Ph.D. thesis.