Celebrating Data Privacy Day – Ask Before You Post

January 28th is internationally recognized as Data Privacy Day. This day began as, and continues to be, a way to create awareness about the importance of privacy and protecting personal information—a crucial component of survivors’ safety.

Obtaining privacy over personal data can seem almost impossible in today’s digital age. A significant amount of our lives is online, and even our offline activities seem to emerge online… somehow, whether we want it to or not. I gave a presentation recently and the organizers took photos and posted them in a public photo album that included my full name. But this is not an isolated event, this has happened several times in my work. During another presentation, attendees were tweeting out my quotes followed by my full name. At no point was I asked for my permission. It becomes my responsibility to actively reach out and communicate any privacy needs. It’s usually just assumed that people are ok with sharing their lives on the web. This is unfortunate. For survivors of abuse, whose privacy is directly linked to their safety, staying on top of what people and companies do with their personal information can be downright exhausting.

We need to shift our collective thinking around data and privacy. Just because it can be online, does not mean that it should be. People often feel bad or uncomfortable asking others to remove online posts or requesting basic information about privacy policies. It’s time to flip the narrative on this. It’s ok to share privacy needs and requests. It’s ok to ask for content to be removed. Privacy is critical to safety for survivors, but survivors shouldn’t have to disclose safety concerns for their privacy to be considered or taken seriously. If we approach this from a privacy-first framework, we can actually start protecting privacy instead of chasing after it.

We’ve all heard tips about protecting our own privacy. That list is everywhere. Let’s celebrate Data Privacy Day differently this year - let’s consider some steps we can take to protect other people’s privacy. If we can create this shift in culture, our own privacy will also be more protected.  

1.       Ask before you post pictures of, or content about, other people.
Not everyone wants their information or images online - Or maybe they don’t care if it’s shared with a limited audience, but prefer that it not have a public audience. You can never assume. Even your selfie-obsessed friend deserves privacy.

2.       Ask before you post pictures of, or content about, other people’s kids.
I know this one can be hard. I mean, do they not see how adorable their kid is? Or how adorable my kid is sitting next to their kid? Privacy over cuteness, people. We have to get our priorities straight.

3.       Think before you share something that was sent to you and ask for permission.
Just because someone shared it with you or on their Facebook page, doesn’t mean they want it shared with everyone you know.

4.       If you run a business or organization website or social media site – ask before you post content that is personally identifying.
Even better, create policies and practices around how you ensure full consent.

Do you see a pattern here? Asking before sharing is the fundamental part of ensuring that people are in control of their privacy. It’s easy to think that we’re all just a needle in a haystack and wonder what issue could possibly come from a simple post or tag. But we live in a world of search engines and even if your page doesn’t have many followers, that content can pop up with a simple Google search. Changing how we treat other people’s information will transform our own privacy risks in the future. Join us in creating a culture of respect and consent in regards to privacy.

Erica Olsen
Deputy Director, Safety Net Project 

Safe Surfing 101: Internet Browser Privacy Settings

Internet browsers—Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Apple Safari— are the entryway to the internet. They are also one of the first steps you can take to increase your privacy while online. Each of these browsers has built-in privacy features and settings that can minimize how much of your online activity someone else can see.

So, you’d rather not have your roommates know that you’ve been working out to Richard Simmons videos (it’s ok, we’re not judging!), or maybe you want to hide your engagement ring searches from your girlfriend. Perhaps you want to be able to privately search for information on domestic violence, dating abuse, or stalking without your partner knowing. These are all valid reasons why you’d want your internet browsing to be private. Particularly, for victims of abuse, in-browser privacy settings can help increase your privacy and safety.

We have a new handout that breaks down in-browser privacy settings for commonly used browsers. The steps in the handout may be slightly different depending on which version of the browser you’re using or what device you’re accessing it from, but it should still help point you in the right direction. Some of the most important in-browser settings to be aware of are the ones that allow you to manage what online searches and activity remain visible in your browser history. You may choose to use the private browsing mode to visit websites without any of that activity being logged in the browser history. You can also choose to go into your browser history and delete selected webpages or searches from the history so they will no longer be visible. For survivors of abuse, these tools can be critical to safety and privacy if an abuser is monitoring the computer/device activity by going through the browser history on the device. It’s important to note that in-browser privacy settings will not prevent someone from seeing your computer or device activity if they are using a spyware monitoring product. If you believe that your activity is being remotely monitored by someone, use another device to access information that you wouldn’t want them to see.

Check out the Steps to Increasing Browser Privacy handout for more information.

Safe Surfing! 

Increasing Privacy: Opt Out of Schools Sharing Kid’s Information

Did you know that most public schools can share what is called “Directory Information” about students with ANY third party who requests it? Directory Information can include an array of details about a student, including age, date of birth, address, height, weight, email address, photos, clubs they belong to, and other school-related details. This information can be released to anyone who asks for it, including marketers, information brokers (who collect and sell personal information), predators, or abusers. This can be a privacy and safety concern, especially for survivors of violence. Many survivors of violence relocate with their children and are diligent at maintaining their privacy to keep their personal information and location unknown to the abuser.

Survivors need to know that this information can be shared and know how to opt out so they can minimize the risks of abusers tracking them or attempting to contact the children directly. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows parents to opt their children out of Directory Information.

Unfortunately, the window to opt out is short; sometimes just a week or two when school first starts. Many schools will also require that families opt out each school year. As school starts again this year, ask your children’s school about opting out of Directory Information. Parents can also ask schools if they have internal policies to limit who may request and access Directory information and advocate for the creation of those policies if they don’t exist.

For more information about this issue, visit World Privacy Forum’s Student Privacy 101 Series, check out the World Privacy Forum’s #OptOutKids Campaign, and watch their YouTube video.

New ‘App Safety Center’ Helps Victims and their Advocates Navigate Smartphone Apps

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) is excited to announce our newest online resource, the App Safety Center. The App Safety Center provides tips, information, and resources for the safe development and use of smartphone apps addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, harassment, and stalking.

Mobile platforms offer new and innovative ways to raise awareness and provide survivors and advocates with important tools. Over the past few years, several apps been developed to assist survivors, educate communities, and connect victim service providers to needed resources. Despite the significant potential to dramatically increase awareness and make information more accessible to survivors, many concerns must be thought through when developing and using apps created for victims of violence and their advocates. Some of these concerns include safety and privacy, since abusers are often misusing technology as a tactic of abuse, harassment, and harm.

“We are so grateful for the support from Verizon that allowed us to launch this critical initiative,” said Cindy Southworth, NNEDV Executive Vice President. “The App Safety Center will give survivors the tools and information they need to make informed decisions about their safe use of smartphone technology.”

The App Safety Center has four main sections:

• Apps for Survivors
• Apps for Public Awareness and Education
• Apps for Victim Service Providers
• Considerations for App Developers

The section on Apps for Survivors reviews several categories of apps, including those used to assess safety and abuse, personal safety apps (including apps specifically for teens and college students), and other tools for survivors.

To create this desperately-needed resource, the Safety Net team at NNEDV reviewed and tested more than 40 apps. The App Safety Center will continue to grow as Safety Net adds more information and reviews new apps as they are introduced. If you have any feedback or know of any updates or new apps, please share them with us by contacting the Safety Net Team. 

Resource Update! New content and language translations for Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

Last year, NNEDV teamed up with Facebook to create Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse. This guide lays out both basic and more advanced privacy and safety features of Facebook, which can help survivors when they are trying to maximize privacy when using Facebook or are attempting to document an abusers’ online harassment. 

This year, as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, NNEDV and Facebook worked together to update the guide and translate it into several languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, and Vietnamese. The updates include guidance on new features and any privacy and security settings that have changed. A new feature that is explained further in the guide is the Download Your Information (DYI) Tool. This tool allows users to download most of their Facebook activity and content, including posts made by other people on the users’ account. For survivors of harassment and stalking, this can be used to document abuse. 

The guide addresses privacy within Facebook, as well as safety tips and options for when someone is misusing the site to harass, monitor, threaten, or stalk.  It refers back to Facebook’s Help Center in several places for more detailed information on settings and features – a site that all Facebook users should check out. 

We believe strongly that everyone has a right to privacy and safety, both offline and online. We also know how important is it for survivors to remain connected to both family and friends and to maintain control over their personal information. Although we often hear suggestions that survivors shouldn’t use social media, we don’t agree that this is a solution. Getting off social media doesn’t guarantee any level of safety or privacy. Additionally, online spaces can decrease isolation and offer much support for survivors, especially when they offer privacy and security controls to the user. Survivors shouldn’t have to worry about their safety when they want to connect with friends and family online. It is critical that survivors have the information that they need to navigate their lives safely, which in today’s digital age, includes online spaces.  

Since joining Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board in 2010, NNEDV has embraced its partnership with Facebook to consistently support the needs of victims of domestic violence, dating abuse, cyber-stalking, and teen dating violence. As we continue our efforts together to enhance the safety and privacy for survivors who are online, NNEDV thanks all those at Facebook for their dedicated efforts to make Facebook a safe environment for all users. 

Please check out the Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse and share with others! 

English - Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

Spanish - Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

French - Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

Vietnamese - Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

Chinese - Safety & Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

New Resources Help Programs Choose the Right Database

Victim service providers across the country are grappling with the same challenge – what kind of database will allow them to properly track records without compromising the privacy of survivors?

There isn’t a simple answer for this question. Choosing and implementing a safe and secure database is a complex process. Fortunately, we have created a series of resources to help programs choose and maintain a database that upholds confidentiality to the extent required by law and best practice.

The Safety Net Team and Confidentiality Institute have gathered information from many database companies that is specifically pertinent to privacy for domestic and sexual violence programs.  Standard questionnaires have been completed by the companies to allow programs to compare the database products side-by-side, and each company participated in a recorded webinar presentation that dives deeper into their policies and processes for securing data.

In addition, some new resources have been developed to help programs narrow down what they are looking for. The handout, “5 Characteristics of a Secure & Victim-Centered Database” explores the key elements to selecting a database that takes into account survivors’ privacy needs and the confidentiality obligations of programs.

You can access these resources by visiting Safety Net’s Selecting a Database section of our Agency’s Use of Technology Best Practices & Policies Toolkit.

For more information on confidentiality obligations, including various templates to use within partnerships, also visit www.nnedv.org/tools. 

Revenge Porn and the Distribution of Sexually Explicit Images: What’s consent have to do with it?

In February, a New York court dismissed a case against a man who posted nude images of his ex-girlfriend online by sharing them on his twitter account and emailing them to her employer and family.  While his actions were reprehensible he faces no punishment because, unfortunately, legal limitations in New York, and many other states, do not currently make what he did criminal. But that is changing.

When sexually explicit images are uploaded online and distributed without consent of the person in the image, it’s often done as a tactic of abuse meant to cause humiliation and harm to the person. Many of these images may have been taken or originally shared with someone else under the expectation of privacy and within a trusting relationship. Some images may have been captured without the victim’s knowledge. In either case, it is an unacceptable violation of trust and privacy. This abuse has been coined “revenge porn,” a term that has been getting a lot of media lately.

Whether the victim willingly took or originally shared the image is irrelevant. Sharing a picture with one person does not mean consent was given for mass, public distribution of the image, and it definitely is not a green light for the person who received the picture to do what they please with it. We make many decisions that can have severe consequences if someone we trusted abused that trust. I can give my neighbors a key to my house and still have a personal and legal expectation that they will not steal from me when I’m not home. I can give a store employee my credit card and expect that will only use the information to finalize the purchase that I have requested. If they do, I am legally protected.

We must stop blaming the victim and start holding abusers accountable in these cases. The person who shared these images with the intent to harm, injure, humiliate, and abuse. By focusing on the victim’s actions and questioning why the victim shared the picture in the first place, as Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at the University of Miami said, "…what we're really saying is if you're sexual with one person, society is entitled to treat you as sexual for all purposes…”

Fortunately, the perception of this behavior is changing, as is the legal landscape around it. Due to the strength and determination of many survivors, states have begun drafting and enacting legislation to address this issue.

Read our new handout on Images, Consent, & Abuse for more detailed information on this issue and tips for survivors. Additional resources can also be found at withoutmyconsent.org. This issue has gained momentum and attention recently as people speak up and speak out. Learn more at the above links and share to continue the conversation. 

Safety and Privacy on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse

This week is the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s inaugural Technology Summit conference, where several staff from Facebook are joining to share their expertise and brainstorm how we can all better support survivors of abuse. In addition, we have teamed up with Facebook to produce an informative guide on privacy and safety for survivors. We are excited about this publication since we know how important it is to survivors to remain connected, both offline and online, to family and friends, while also maintaining their privacy and safety. 

Since joining Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board in 2010, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has embraced its partnership with Facebook to consistently support the needs of victims of domestic violence, dating abuse, cyber-stalking and teen dating violence.

Privacy and safety go hand in hand for survivors. The most dangerous time for a victim of abuse is when they are preparing to leave or have left an abusive partner. It’s at this time that there is an increased likelihood of an escalation in violence and risk for lethality. It is critical that survivors have the information that they need to navigate their lives safely and, in today’s digital age, a significant part of our lives are online. 

We believe that survivors have the right to experience and live online (and offline) safely. We sometimes hear that survivors should just “get offline” if they are concerned about an abuser finding them or contacting them. This is not a solution. Survivors shouldn’t have to live their lives avoiding every possible situation that the abusive person could misuse. They can’t control that person’s behavior and we should work to continuously hold abusers accountable for their actions. Abusers go to devastating lengths to isolate their victims from family and friends. It is vital that survivors are able to safely rebuild those important connections, using Facebook and other social networks. Telling a victim to go offline to be safe is not only unacceptable, it further isolates her from people who love her. Our role, as advocates, professionals, friends, and family, is to make sure that survivors know the options to maintain their safety. That’s the empowering strategy – helping survivors take back the control that abusers have tried to steal from their lives. 

This guide addresses privacy on Facebook, as well as safety tips and options for when someone is misusing the site to harass, monitor, threaten, or stalk.  It refers back to Facebook’s Help Center in several places for more detailed information on settings and features – a site that all Facebook users should check out. 

We hope that this guide helps survivors of abuse know how to stay connected through social media while continuing to maintain their safety.

To read our full how-to guide, as well as learn more about Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, please visit Facebook's Family Safety Center. 

NNEDV is one of five member organizations comprising Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, along with Childnet International, ConnectSafely.org, The Family Online Safety Institute and WiredSafety.