The challenge
Digital privacy is arguably one of the most important topics of the current times in digital communication. With the growing ubiquity of information and information-based tools and services, privacy has become both a resource and a currency in social, cultural, political, and economic interactions. Yet, the conceptualization of privacy itself is still at the heart of the scholarly debate, especially when viewed from a global, comparative perspective. Conceptions of privacy hold deep, cultural underpinnings, yet these dimensions are often underexplored in research that focuses on how privacy is valued, measured, and enacted. Likewise, researchers are seeking for guidance in order to engage with digital data while at the same time respecting privacy needs of persons involved in their studies. This conceptual plurality, coupled with socio-technical developments, makes comparative privacy research particularly challenging, despite its importance. We invite you to engage with this challenge.
The idea
This initiative was born out of a series of independent studies around the world and conversations that occurred in venues such as the International Communication Association. The goal is to create a sustainable framework for comparative privacy research.
Upcoming events
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Click here for information on past events.
News and Announcements
July 2025: Special Issue on Comparative Privacy Published in Social Media + Society!
What does privacy mean across different parts of the world—and how do people, governments, and platforms approach it in the age of datafication and digital surveillance? This special issue of Social Media + Society brings together a global collection of studies that explore privacy through a comparative lens. Together, these contributions show why understanding privacy in context—social, cultural, political, and technological—is essential today.
The issue covers diverse settings and populations: from married women in rural India whose privacy practices reflect deep social norms, to young adults in Germany and Romania managing app permissions, and school communities in Germany and Israel navigating online learning during the pandemic. Some articles investigate institutional frameworks—like the fragmented data protection laws in Latin America and the Caribbean, or how China’s new PIPL has reshaped platform and user practices. Others zoom in on public perceptions and behaviors, comparing responses to AI privacy issues in the US and China, political expression on Facebook across five Western countries, or beliefs about phones “listening in” for ads in the US, Netherlands, and Poland.
Several articles shed light on how attitudes toward data use shift depending on the perceived public benefit—as seen in a longitudinal study across Germany, Spain, and the UK—and how young people across Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Ghana, and Slovenia think about privacy in the face of growing datafication.
By combining qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches, these studies push the boundaries of how privacy is researched across regions and stakeholder groups. Collectively, they reveal that privacy is never one-size-fits-all. Instead, it is a relational and evolving concept shaped by local values, global technologies, and shifting power dynamics.
We invite you to explore this special issue and its wide-ranging contributions—each offering fresh insights and comparative depth to one of the defining issues of our time.
Editorial: Link
All articles: Link
June 2025: Fantastic Panel at the 75th International Communication Association in Denver
We had a fantastic panel at ICA 2025 on “Comparative Privacy Research: Conceptual, Methodological, and Epistemological Challenges”. Bringing together scholars from diverse regions, disciplines, and career stages, the session sparked rich conversations around how we study privacy across cultural and technological contexts.
Moderated by Christoph Lutz and organized by Carsten Wilhelm, the panel featured thought-provoking contributions from Kelly Quinn, Renwen Zhang, Dmitry Epstein, Mora Matassi, Debjani Chakraborty, and Philipp K. Masur, with insightful reflections from discussant Sonia Livingstone. Together, they explored computational, qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical approaches to comparative privacy, offering fresh perspectives and practical insights for privacy scholars.
A heartfelt thank you to all participants and attendees for making this such an engaging and inspiring session!