Privacy issues—especially digital privacy—make their way to the top of your newsfeed on a regular basis. Yet issues of privacy have a direct impact in both your personal and professional life. They affect many areas of university operations, according to Technology Services associate director of privacy, Phil Reiter.
“Privacy is now at the heart of who we are–our identities and our autonomy–and is also a reflection of our culture and society. With increasing pieces of our data available, from our health data to our beliefs and values, we need greater awareness around how that data is and can be used. This includes both the risks and benefits we will see.”
“We also have a responsibility to others in our roles at the University. Our faculty researchers must understand privacy to protect their human research subjects. And faculty who teach are coping with new and unique challenges from the pandemic and in remote learning in general to protect privacy. There are many topics related to privacy that we should be discussing,” Reiter said.
The upcoming Privacy Everywhere Digital Conference is just the setting Reiter hopes will open up additional dialog and spark more conversation about privacy.
“We wanted to tap into the broad talent we have here at Illinois. The conference will feature expert researchers, faculty, and staff presentations, along with panel discussion. We’ll dive deeper into issues of digital privacy and higher education, and share what is coming next in privacy policy and its possible ramifications,” Reiter explained.
The February 26 online event is aimed at staff, faculty and researchers.