A Theory of Creepy: Technology, Privacy and Shifting Social Norms

32 Pages Posted: 18 Sep 2013 Last revised: 9 Jul 2015

See all articles by Omer Tene

Omer Tene

International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

Jules Polonetsky

Future of Privacy Forum

Date Written: September 16, 2013

Abstract

The rapid evolution of digital technologies has hurled to the forefront of public and legal discourse dense social and ethical dilemmas that we have hardly begun to map and understand. In the near past, general community norms helped guide a clear sense of ethical boundaries with respect to privacy. One does not peek into the window of a house even if it is left open. One does not hire a private detective to investigate a casual date or the social life of a prospective employee. Yet with technological innovation rapidly driving new models for business and inviting new types of personal socialization, we often have nothing more than a fleeting intuition as to what is right or wrong. Our intuition may suggest that it is responsible to investigate the driving record of the nanny who drives our child to school, since such tools are now readily available. But is it also acceptable to seek out the records of other parents in our child’s car pool or of a date who picks us up by car? Alas, intuitions and perceptions of “creepiness” are highly subjective and difficult to generalize as social norms are being strained by new technologies and capabilities. And businesses that seek to create revenue opportunities by leveraging newly available data sources face huge challenges trying to operationalize such subjective notions into coherent business and policy strategies.

This article presents a set of social and legal considerations to help individuals, engineers, businesses and policymakers navigate a world of new technologies and evolving social norms. These considerations revolve around concepts that we have explored in prior work, including enhanced transparency; accessibility to information in usable format; and the elusive principle of context.

Keywords: privacy, data protection, law and technology, social networks

JEL Classification: K10, K23

Suggested Citation

Tene, Omer and Polonetsky, Jules, A Theory of Creepy: Technology, Privacy and Shifting Social Norms (September 16, 2013). 16 Yale Journal of Law & Technology 59 (2013) , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2326830

Omer Tene (Contact Author)

International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) ( email )

Pease International Tradeport
75 Rochester Ave., Suite 4
Portsmouth, NH 03801
United States

Jules Polonetsky

Future of Privacy Forum ( email )

United States

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