Marketplace All-in-One Have we given up on data privacy?
Dec 4, 2025
Rohan Grover, an AI and media professor at American University, dives deep into the world of data privacy. He explores why public outrage over privacy breaches has waned and introduces the concept of 'data disaffection,' where people become numb to violations. Grover discusses alarming government data sharing, like immigration access to Medicaid, and critiques cookie banners as ineffective. He emphasizes that privacy is a collective issue impacted by AI and advocates for federal privacy reform to better protect individuals' data.
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Data Disaffection Explains Public Apathy
- People often feel numb about data scandals because they believe they can't do anything about them.
- Rohan Grover calls this rational reaction "data disaffection" cultivated by how stories and headlines treat data issues.
Data-Sharing Has Tangible, Protest-Worthy Harms
- Data-sharing decisions (like giving ICE access to Medicaid data) warrant the same public protest as the actions they enable.
- Grover and his co-author wrote to highlight that technical agreements have tangible harms.
Frictionless Design Masks Data Collection
- Digital products hide extensive, granular data collection by design to keep interactions frictionless.
- Grover notes cookie banners and other measures reveal only a sliver of the data realities users face.