Privacy isn’t dead – it’s just that tech companies have made it inconvenient

Is sharing your data worth what you’re getting out of it? That may be the wrong question to ask when you are thinking about whether to share.

By: Sandra Matz, Columbia University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 27, 2026

Words: 1,170

Last Updated: 1 month, 4 weeks ago

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By Sandra Matz, Columbia University

“You have zero privacy … Get over it,” Scott McNealy, then CEO of Sun Microsystems, declared in 1999.

What might have sounded like a bold claim at the turn of the millennium has turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy in today’s era of big data and artificial intelligence.

Computer algorithms – step-by-step instructions – can connect the digital breadcrumbs of your existence, including Google searches, browsing histories, social …

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