Supporting Privacy in Mobile and Pervasive Computing

Abstract

How can future mobile and pervasive computing systems properly take personal privacy concerns and needs into account? How can we ensure that a world full of mobile and pervasive computing will not turn into a dystopian future of mass surveillance? These are hard questions with no simple answers. In this chapter, we discuss key approaches and challenges for respecting and supporting privacy in mobile and pervasive computing. However, none of these approaches alone will “fix” all privacy problems. The previous chapters showed that privacy is a complex topic and protecting privacy in socio-technical systems is a complex challenge. There is no simple technical solution that can fully address all privacy concerns. Nor can technology do so by itself: laws and social norms influence what data practices are deemed acceptable and what should be prevented. Yet, laws and social norms in turn need to be supported by technology, so that they can be implemented in practice. Understanding how mobile and pervasive computing works on a technical level is essential for being able to shape the legal and political privacy discourse, just as it is essential to understand, say, behavioral economics in order to understand decision-making practices of individuals.