Your Location Data Privacy is a Problem for Society

We often think about data privacy as a personal issue. Will someone hack my phone? Will I get creepy ads? Who's watching me?

But social scientist Fran Meissner challenges this idea and flips it on its head. In this video, she explains why data isn’t just about you as an individual. The deeper danger lies in what happens when data is used to profile entire communities, reinforce bias, and normalise control.

When you’re tracked through your daily movements, the risk isn’t just personalised targeting, it’s the creation of social patterns that can be used to exclude, manipulate, or punish groups of people, often invisibly. This isn’t just about your data being sold - it’s about data being weaponised in ways that affect democracy, justice, and equity.  

Learn more from Fran and many brilliant people advancing geotechnology ethics in this free course: GeotechE Geotechnology Ethics