Doctoral Dissertation Oral Proposal, Ehsan Ul Haque
Title: Technical Literacy-based Approaches towards Understanding and Influencing Users’ Privacy Decision-Making
Ph.D. Candidate: Ehsan Ul Haque
Major Advisor: Dr. Mohammad Maifi Hasan Khan
Associate Advisors: Dr. Walter Krawec, Dr. Suining He
Date/Time: Wednesday, August 28th, 2024, 10:00 am
Location: HBL 1947 room
Meeting link: https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/uconn-cmr/j.php?MTID=m04d3b79d641cc4a6b9323d516fada352
Meeting number: 2631 935 8886
Meeting password: tT6k4dMWMJ3
Abstract:
The ubiquitous adoption of smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices has made user data collection seamless, raising serious concerns about data privacy among privacy experts, advocates, and end-users. Due to the elevated privacy concerns, it has become essential to understand how end-users protect their data, what factors influence their privacy decision-making, and how we may nudge users towards informed privacy decision-making.
Towards that, first, we investigate the effects of different factors on users’ perception of trust towards the service providers and their decision to adopt the offered privacy features that give users control over their data. Findings suggest that technical literacy significantly affects the perception of trust towards the service providers and the decision to adopt privacy controls. Next, we investigate how technical literacy leads to users’ willingness to pay for data privacy controls for the Internet of Things devices. Results indicate that technical literacy leads to a higher understandability of the implications of data privacy controls, which leads to a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for the offered controls. Finally, we investigate the effect of technical literacy on users’ decision to choose between data privacy or money, reflecting on the tradeoffs between privacy and money under the ‘pay for privacy’ model.
Based on our findings confirming the nuanced influence of technical literacy on users’ privacy decision-making, we propose to investigate the effect of an educational intervention-based approach on users’ subsequent privacy decision-making in the context of Internet of Things devices. The insights gained from our work will enrich the literature regarding the effect of technical literacy on users’ privacy decision-making and demonstrate the viability of education-based interventions focusing on privacy literacy development in nudging users to make informed privacy decisions.
