“Privacy, data protection and online user experience” workshop

I facilitated a workshop on “Privacy, data protection and online user experience” at the European Youth Panel in Luxembourg in November 2015. In this post originally from the Better Internet for Kids site, one of the participants, Ida, describes her experience

Young people from across Europe met for the 7th edition of the European Youth Panel (YEP) which took place in Luxembourg, last month. In total, 10 young people selected from their national youth panels to represent their peers and to share their ideas, thoughts and comments with the stakeholders were present at Safer Internet Forum.

Day 2 – Privacy, data protection and online user experience

‘This session was about privacy, data protection and online user experience.

‘To start off this session Chris, one of the youth moderators, informed us about the things that happen when we put something online. He told us that the things we put online stay there forever and that it’s stored in the databases of companies.

‘Then, we were divided up in small groups of three people where we would write the negatives of internet use and then the solutions we think these negativities should have. We then presented our problems and solutions to the whole group.

‘Chris then showed us a picture of what different companies get access to when you agree to their terms and conditions – including lots of access to our privacy.

‘During this session, I learned that my phone isn’t so private when I am downloading apps, such as Facebook, and give them access to my pictures. I also learned that even if the terms and conditions are long and difficult, we should read them or be aware of what we are agreeing to. We also learned about a website named Privacy Salon – here, you can find steps on how to protect your data and devices.

‘My favourite part about this was that it gave me information I didn’t have before – important information about my privacy rights.

‘I took home to my friends and classmates information about what different types of social media are getting access to when you agree to their terms and conditions. I will be sharing this information with as many people as I can.’

Ida, Sweden