Little is known about non-Western social media users' motivations for adopting behaviors that protect them against pervasive threats to their privacy, security, and personal well-being. Drawing on Rogers' Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), this survey study explores Caribbean people’s (N=551) perceptions of safety threats and the factors contributing to their intention to adopt protective behaviors. Our analysis revealed that prior victimization was associated with increased perceptions of vulnerability and severity of harms, which, in turn, influenced elevated safety protection behaviors. For harassment-related harms in particular, participants' trust in social media sites increased their intention to adopt protective behaviors. We observe significant country-to-country differences, which we contextualize through interviews with experts throughout the region. Our findings provide a new understanding of users’ mental models, behaviors, and attitudes with respect to online safety. We conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications and outline opportunities for the design of inclusive and culturally-aware safety tools.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3491102.3517643
Deepfakes are synthetic content generated using advanced deep learning and AI technologies. The advancement of technology has created opportunities for anyone to create and share deepfakes much easier. This may lead to societal concerns based on how communities engage with it. However, there is limited research available to understand how communities perceive deepfakes. We examined deepfake conversations on Reddit from 2018 to 2021---including major topics and their temporal changes as well as implications of these conversations. Using a mixed-method approach---topic modeling and qualitative coding, we found 6,638 posts and 86,425 comments discussing concerns of the believable nature of deepfakes and how platforms moderate them. We also found Reddit conversations to be pro-deepfake and building a community that supports creating and sharing deepfake artifacts and building a marketplace regardless of the consequences. Possible implications derived from qualitative codes indicate that deepfake conversations raise societal concerns. We propose that there are implications for Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to mitigate the harm created from deepfakes.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3491102.3517446
In January 2021, WhatsApp announced an update to their privacy policy, sparking an outcry that saw millions of users install other messaging apps such as Telegram and Signal. This presented a rare opportunity to study users’ experiences when trying to leave the world’s most popular communication app. We conducted surveys in February and May with 1525 WhatsApp users from Mexico, Spain, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Over a quarter wanted to switch at least part of their communication to other apps, but 74% of them failed to do so. By May, 27% had increased their use of other apps, and only 16% used WhatsApp less. Beyond network effects, users struggled with making informed choices of alternative apps and with differences in their design and functionality. We suggest messaging interoperability as an approach to alleviate switching costs and discuss implications for HCI research and competition regulation of digital services.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3491102.3502032
We explore privacy perceptions, beliefs and practices of low-literate, low-income users in Pakistan, a patriarchal and religious context with a literacy rate of approx. 68% and where 59% of mobile users have less than 6 years of formal education. Through a qualitative study with 40 participants(17 male and 23 female) we examine the cultural, religious, and familial structures that impact users perceptions, management, and control of their personal privacy. We reveal significant gendered differences in privacy understandings, privacy preserving practices and the access to privacy related knowledge. Our work also highlights the seminal impact religious beliefs have on men and women's understandings and management of privacy and the prolific use of after-market modified apps to support users specific privacy needs. The privacy concerns raised by our participants provide HCI researchers with valuable insights into designing privacy affordances for vulnerable and diverse populations beyond Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic contexts.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3491102.3501883
In our data-centric world, most services rely on collecting and using personal data. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to enhance individuals’ control over their data, but its practical impact is not well understood. We present a 10-participant study, where each participant filed 4-5 data access requests. Through interviews accompanying these requests and discussions scrutinising returned data, it appears that GDPR falls short of its goals due to non-compliance and low-quality responses. Participants found their hopes to understand providers’ data practices or harness their own data unmet. This causes increased distrust without any subjective improvement in power, although more transparent providers do earn greater trust. We propose designing more effective, data-inclusive and open policies and data access systems to improve both customer relations and individual agency, and also that wider public use of GDPR rights could help with delivering accountability and motivating providers to improve data practices.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3491102.3501947