Yuxi Wu

Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science

School of Interactive Computing

Georgia Institute of Technology

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024

Time: 10:00AM to 1:00PM EDT

Location (in-person): TSRB 223

Location (virtual): Zoom Link

Committee:

Dr. Sauvik Das (co-advisor) – Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Keith Edwards (co-advisor) – School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Joseph Calandrino – Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission

Dr. Christopher Le Dantec – School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology & Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University

Dr. Richmond Wong – School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Ellen Zegura – School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract:

People feel concerned, angry, frustrated when subjected to surveillance, data breaches and other privacy-violating experiences with large institutions. However, they also feel helpless to effect change. Collective action may empower groups of people affected by such experiences to jointly voice their stories of live harm and demand redress.

In this thesis, I show that considering users’ privacy concerns and lived harms on a collective level can empower users through allowing them to (1) understand they are not alone in their experiences; (2) recognize that their harms are significant and measurable; and (3) be equipped with the appropriate tools to regularly speak out about these harms. I do this through a series of work in which I create a unified collective voice of privacy concerns, interpret the unified voice in existing legal lenses of harm, and imagine formal ways to measure and respond to privacy harms. Reflecting upon my findings from this work, I discuss how the current lack of a collective action framing within the usable privacy and security field has led to the community not addressing multiple long-standing problems, and how my work can inform future directions of research in the field.