Just say no to 'just say no' : tensions in organizational approaches to youth and online privacy in the Americas

This thesis examines organizational practices in the field of youth online privacy in the Americas. I describe harms created by protective, universalist, individualistic approaches that pose youth as conditional citizens, and make a case for approaches based instead on youth agency, intersectional views of privacy, collective responsibility, and the recognition of youth as subjects of rights today. I demonstrate organizational practices that align with this vision, such as codesign and institutional youth involvement; particular consideration of the needs and rights of marginalized youth; actions that emphasize the role of sociotechnical structures in the defense of youth's right to privacy; the creation of opportunities for intergenerational learning; the use of advocacy frames such as harm reduction and equality; and the reliance on local and creative narratives that resonate with youth. My methods consisted of eighteen semi-structured interviews and an organizational literature review of eighteen organizations that work at the intersections of youth development, personal data protection, digital rights, and countersurveillance.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Comparative Media Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Garcia-Montes, Mariel.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sasha Costanza-Chock.

• Comparative Media Studies.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121601

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/121601