Publications & Readings

Publications

  • Masur, P. K., Epstein, D., Quinn, K., Wilhelm, C., Baruh, L., & Lutz, C. (2025). Comparative privacy research: Literature Review, Framework, and Research Agenda. The Information Society, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2025.2451863 

Abstract
The ways in which privacy is understood, defined, perceived, and enacted are contingent on cultural, social, political, economic, and technological settings. Yet, privacy research is often criticized for not adequately accounting for these. A comparative perspective requires the contextualization of privacy through investigating similarities and differences across contexts. This article outlines the Comparative Privacy Research Framework, which involves (a) scrutinizing one’s position (of power) and epistemological biases, (b) assessing the comparability of the object under study, (c) identifying and justifying meaningful units of comparison, and (d) reflecting on how these units of comparison interact in shaping privacy. We conclude by proposing a comparative privacy research agenda that informs efforts in privacy regulation, education, and research.

  • Lutz, C., Baruh, L., Quinn, K., Epstein, D., Masur, P. K., & Wilhelm, C. (2025). Comparative approaches to studying privacy: Introduction to the Special Issue. Social Media + Society, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251344460 [Link to Intro, Link to Special Issue]

Abstract of the Editorial
This editorial introduces the Social Media + Society special issue “Comparative Approaches To Studying Privacy.” Recognizing the importance of privacy in today’s digital societies and volatile political and regulatory environments, the editorial highlights the pressing need for comparative research on the topic and describes the articles in this special issue. The special issue addresses the theoretical, methodological, and practical challenges and opportunities of researching privacy across cultural, social, political, economic, and technological units of comparison. The articles in the special issue explore diverse privacy understandings, attitudes, and practices across contexts, challenging decontextualized and mono-cultural understandings in relation to social media and adjacent technologies. The special issue articles also illustrate fruitful ways privacy can be studied across different units of comparison with qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Several contributions in the special issue, including this editorial, not only broaden the scope of privacy research but also encourage engagement with multi-stakeholder perspectives in the context of social media, considering the role of policy, industry, and civil society. In the editorial, we briefly relate the special issue and its contributions to the comparative privacy research framework (CPRF), which serves as a useful starting point and a solid conceptual foundation for comparative privacy research. Finally, we develop a research agenda for future comparative privacy research, which critically examines position of power and epistemological biases, evaluates the comparability of the subject of study, determining and justifying relevant units of comparison, and helps to analyze how these units interact in shaping the concept of privacy.

  • John, N., Joeckel, S., Epstein, D. & Dogruel, L. (2022). Privacy and distance learning in turbulent times: a comparison of German and Israeli schools during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning, Media and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2022.2089682

Abstract
The social distancing and lockdown measures enacted to address the COVID-19 pandemic entailed an unprecedented shift to digitally-mediated communication. The move to remote learning at schools was one of such important changes. Drawing on privacy and STS literature, we investigate the role of different privacy cultures during the initial moment of turbulence, when schools had to quickly adapt to remote teaching. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers in Israel and Germany. Our interviews carved out three distinct phases: A moment of turbulence, a period of negotiation and a phase of temporary closure, leading to the dominance of Zoom and Google Classroom in Israel, and government-mandated open-source tools for German teachers. These different pathways are shaped by considerations of vertical privacy among German teachers, and the absence of such considerations on the part of Israeli teachers.

Related work of members

  • Baruh, L., & Popescu, M. (2017). Big Data Analytics and the Limits of Privacy Self-management. New Media & Society, 19(4), 579–596.
  • Baruh, L., Secinti, E. & Cemalcılar, Z. (2017). Online Privacy Concern and Privacy Management: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of Communication, 67(1), 26-53.
  • Bosler, S. & Wilhelm, C. (2017). La politique des études d’usage: Une méta-analyse internationale des études sur les médias numériques. Les Enjeux de l’Information et de La Communication 18(3a), 73-86. [Link]
  • Epstein, D., John, N., Wilhelm, C., Barats, C., Siiback, A. (2021, October). Privacy, Covid-19 and Online Teaching: A Comparative Study in Estonia, France and Israel. Paper presented at AoIR 2021: The 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Philadelphia, PA, USA: AoIR. Retrieved from http://spir.aoir.org.
  • Epstein, D. & Quinn, K. (2020). Markers of online privacy marginalization: Empirical examination of socioeconomic disparities in social media privacy attitudes, literacy, and behavior. Social Media + Society, 6(2). [Link (Open Access)]
  • Kezer, M., Sevi, B., Cemalcilar, Z., & Baruh, L. (2016). Age differences in privacy attitudes, literacy and privacy management on Facebook. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 10(1), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2016-1-2
  • Masur, P. K. (2018). Situational privacy and self-disclosure: Communication processes in online environments. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78884-5 [Link, Summary]
  • Masur, P. K. (2021). Understanding the Effects of Conceptual and Analytical Choices on ‘Finding’ the Privacy Paradox: A Specification Curve Analysis of Large-Scale Survey Data. Information, Communication & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1963460 [Link (Open Access)]
  • Masur, P. K., & Ranzini, G. (2025). Privacy Calculus, Privacy Paradox, and Context Collapse: A Replication of Three Key Studies in Communication Privacy Research. Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2025.2451863
  • Masur, P. K., Bazarova, N. N., & DiFranzo, D. (2023). The impact of what others do, approve of, and expect you to do: An in-depth analysis of social norms and self-disclosure on social media. Social Media + Society, 9(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231156401
  • Newlands, G., Lutz, C., Tamò-Larrieux, A., Villaronga, E. F., Harasgama, R., & Scheitlin, G. (2020). Innovation under pressure: Implications for data privacy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Big Data & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951720976680
  • Quinn, K., Epstein, D., & Moon, B. (2019). We care about different things: Non-elite conceptualizations of social media privacy. Social Media + Society, 5(3). [Link (Open Access)]
  • Ranzini, G., Newlands, G., & Lutz, C. (2020). Sharenting, Peer Influence, and Privacy Concerns: A Study on the Instagram-Sharing Behaviors of Parents in the United Kingdom. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120978376
  • Trepte, S. & Masur, P. K. (2017). Privacy attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of the German population: Research report. In Friedewald et al. (Eds.), Forum Privatheit und selbstbestimmtes Leben in der digitalen Welt. Karlsruhe: Fraunhofer ISI. [Link (Open Access), Data]
  • Trepte, S. & Masur, P. K. (2016). Cultural differences in social media use, privacy, and self-disclosure. Research report on a multicultural survey study. Germany: University of Hohenheim. [PDF (Open Access)]
  • Wilhelm, C. (2021). Approche socio-culturelle et comparative des représentations du numérique. Vie privée et « hygiène de vie numérique » en Allemagne [A socio-cultural and comparative approach to representations of digital technology. Privacy and “digital hygiene” in Germany]. Interfaces numériques, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.25965/interfaces-numeriques.4589