"Testing the “end of privacy” hypothesis in computer-mediated communication An agent-based modelling approach", Paola Tubaro & Antonio A. Casilli, presentation at the Fondation CIGREF, Paris, Nov 14th, 2011

1. THEOP
Testing the “end of privacy” hypothesis in
computer-mediated communication
An agent-based modelling approach
Paola Tubaro1 Antonio A. Casilli2
1 University of Greenwich, London
2 Telecom ParisTech and EHESS, Paris
Cigref, Research Workshop, 14 November 2011

2. THEOP
Introduction
Outline
Outline
1 Introduction
Outline
Research object
2 Research questions
RQ1
RQ2
3 Modalities of conduct
4 Interim results
5 Expected results

3. THEOP
Introduction
Research object
Does online networking erode privacy?
Alleged tendency to renounce
privacy for an open, connected
existence;
Younger generations reportedly
less attentive to privacy issues;
Are we approaching the “End of
Privacy” as we know it?

4. THEOP
Introduction
Research object
Implications of the “End of privacy”
A change in attitudes toward privacy would have widespread
consequences;
These would be ethical and legal, but also managerial and
societal more generally.

5. THEOP
Introduction
Research object
Some factors affecting attitudes towards privacy
Literature has already identified
factors that may determine
differential attitudes to privacy;
Particularly age but also gender,
educational attainment,
socio-economic status;
Also: terms of service of different
online SNS providers; legal and
institutional frameworks.

6. THEOP
Introduction
Research object
Problematising privacy
However, online interactions
complexify the very notion of privacy;
Traditional notion based on metaphor
of concentric circles of intimacy;
Mono-directional notion (Brandeis): a
core of sensitive data to be protected.
⇒ This notion no longer seems well
adapted to interactions in a networked
society.

7. THEOP
Introduction
Research object
Privacy as a multi-directional, dynamic process
Online privacy better described
through multi-directional notion
of privacy as regulation
(Altman);
Brunswik’s lens model:
Individuals send signals to, and
receive feedback from, the
environment.
⇒ Self-disclosure accompanies
adaptation to signals from the
(social) environment over time.

8. THEOP
Research questions
RQ1
Contexts and contents
RQ1: Can privacy in online interactions be conceptualised as a
multi-dimensional, adaptive process involving the combined
evaluation of “sensitive contents” and “sensitive contexts”?

9. THEOP
Research questions
RQ1
Contexts and contents (cont.)
Individuals form online ties to others taking into account both
value added and sensitivity of contents to share;
Online ties bring forth formation of groups with shared traits,
which establish contexts;
Over time, contexts feed back on contents and on how their
sensitivity is perceived;
They ultimately affect choices to form/delete/maintain ties.

10. THEOP
Research questions
RQ2
Systemic outcomes
RQ2: What will be the final configuration of the social system, in
terms of degree of disclosure?

11. THEOP
Modalities of conduct
Agent-based computer simulation
Generate socially consistent scenarios
on a computer;
Compare their outcomes;
To detect and assess variables coming
into play within specific social
processes;
To identify sufficient conditions for a
macro phenomenon to emerge from
the interaction of micro behaviours.
An aid to perform a thought
experiment.

12. THEOP
Modalities of conduct
The logic of an agent-based model
Generate an artificial population of
agents in an environment;
Endow them with basic rules of
behaviour;
Let them interact for a certain time
and step aside;
Observe outcomes at the system
level at the end.

13. THEOP
Modalities of conduct
Axelrod’s approach
We build on Axelrod’s agent-based
model of culture dissemination (1997);
Each agent is represented by a vector
of contents, each with a different
value;
Agents form ties with each other, thus
create contexts;
Their values vary adapting to both
content and context;
Iterations of this process gradually
modify the system.

14. THEOP
Interim results
First version simulation model
First version programmed and run on NetLogo (Wilensky
1999);
Two embedded notions of privacy:
Gradual self-disclosure and adaptation to one’s personal
network, through a feedback process;
Binary on/off visibility settings.
Some results already available;
Improvements planned for the coming months.

15. THEOP
Interim results
Model Interface

16. THEOP
Interim results
Resulting system configurations
Figure: Stable configurations (20,000 time steps): (1) Small subnets, (2) Supernet.

17. THEOP
Interim results
Two solutions emerge
Many small subnets where contents are locked to contexts
⇒ “Elective communities” scenario.
Supernet where all contents are shared by all individuals,
regardless of context
⇒ Is this the “End-of-Privacy” scenario?

18. THEOP
Interim results
Effects of some varying parameters
Figure: Number and size of nets, varying with connectedness and openness to diversity.

19. THEOP
Interim results
Evolution of privacy on/off settings
Figure: Average privacy settings, varying with connectedness and openness to diversity over time.

20. THEOP
Interim results
For further reflection
It is when individuals grow more and more connected, and
share more and more contents, that privacy becomes an issue
again;
The supposed “End of Privacy” scenario is in fact more
complex than expected;
Tendency to greater openness is not linear and may give rise
to counter-tendencies.

21. THEOP
Expected results
Expected results and next steps
Refine model structure, parameters, and assumptions;
Run new simulations with different combinations of
assumptions, settings and parameters, observe and interpret
results;
Disentangle the social processes underlying the observed
behaviours of the system;
Derive implications for policy-making.

22. THEOP
Expected results
Questions? Comments?

23. THEOP
Expected results
Find this presentation on:
http://paolatubaro.wordpress.com
http://www.bodyspacesociety.eu
Paola Tubaro, p.tubaro@gre.ac.uk
Antonio A. Casilli, casilli@telecom-paristech.fr