As awards season rapidly progresses, we are reminded of the series and movies released last year that demonstrated the sometimes dire lack of safe enforcement of our right to privacy.
We increasingly see examples of life on the big and small screen where personal information is accessible with the click of a device. The stories constantly normalize life without privacy, with characters being found through hacked records (“Old Dads”) or subjected to physical attacks, catfishing, and stalking due to access to a license plate number and $80 for an address locator (“Cattle”).
Even when we are asked in Leave the World Behind to question our dependence on digital devices and the power of access to information, these films consistently overlook a critical element.
They brilliantly reflect the real-life conditions of how we live today, fully connected, freely sharing and using the data at our fingertips. They highlight the potential and increasingly negative consequences of such sharing. But they don’t show us how to avoid these consequences.
WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS SOLUTIONS
Some might argue that they don’t have to do this (it’s entertainment, after all), and they’d be right.
Moving towards a solution starts with us. As individuals, business leaders, innovators, government officials, and more, we must embrace privacy measures in real life so that creators can bring it to us on the screen. If we don’t, we risk the chance to transform these vivid depictions from an occasional reality into a permanent reality.
Malicious governments have the know-how to transform our existence in a nanosecond. They have already violated national systems and interfered with elections. At an individual level, our personal data is exposed more frequently than ever before. MIT professor S.E. A recent study by. Madnick showed that there were 20% more data breaches in the US in the first nine months of 2023 compared to all of 2022. Additionally, by December last year, approximately 325 million people worldwide were affected by data leaks.
The reason the more cataclysmic national or global consequences did not materialize is not because those with power did not have access to the data, but because they were focused on other matters.
It’s time to flip the script and create a new reality.
This starts with businesses asking for less information when interacting with new customers and working more diligently to respect and protect the data they collect. It includes more government officials advocating for legislation that would ensure young people and seniors are not endangered by bad actors. And it requires individuals as a whole to have easier access to tools like VPNs, virtual identities, and password managers to anonymize data and gain control over what personal information is shared and how it is used.
By doing this, and collectively taking other steps, we will naturally begin to see stories integrate privacy solutions on screen, which will help reframe the cultural dialogue we currently experience and create a new norm that:
WE ACCEPT THAT WE HAVE A CHOICE
Even though we have been trained to share information over the last three decades, that doesn’t mean we should continue to do so. Entertainment or not, we will be able to show both sides of the story for those who are in control of the narrative and help individuals understand through words, images and actions that different approaches and outcomes exist.
WE PROVIDE THE CONVERSATION
We will be able to demonstrate the dangers arising from accessing data, but also highlight the benefits and actions of protecting personal information. This could be as simple as movie characters choosing not to share their phone number or questioning why someone would want that number. Or it could be as deep as showing that democracy still exists because a country’s data and infrastructure are protected.
BY TAKING CONTROL OF US
By normalizing the use of tools and acts of stealth, we will begin to see the “good guys” enjoy the comfort of control. Grandmas will give scammers a run for their money. Teens and parents will enjoy the benefits of online safety environments. Individuals who want to stay off the grid will be able to avoid marketers who want to find them.
We are at a turning point in society where we can choose to enter this dark hole of data availability or take action to prevent any more data from getting out.
By doing the latter, we will inevitably begin to create and represent a more robust and hopeful view of life through data privacy solutions; This will empower us all to drive a new normal in how our data is shared and used, with huge benefits.