Talk Title: Threat Modeling Reproductive Health Privacy

Speaker:  Dr. Nora McDonald, Assistant Professor,  Department of Information Science and Technology, George Mason University

Location: HBK 2105 and Zoom

Abstract: In a post-Roe landscape, reproductive privacy has become increasingly complex and high-stakes. This talk draws on mixed-methods research with healthcare providers and people who can become pregnant to examine how both groups understand and respond to evolving privacy risks. My work with colleagues found that providers’ privacy threat models often overlook new legal, digital, and contextual risks. While many are thinking critically about patient safety, their models need updating. Meanwhile, patients—deeply aware of their risks—are increasingly taking extreme privacy measures but still rely on guidance from providers. I conclude by proposing a concept that I have been evolving over the years, privacy intermediaries, as a promising framework to support people navigating these urgent, evolving threats.

 

Bio:  Dr. Nora McDonald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Science and Technology at George Mason University. She holds a PhD in Information Science from Drexel University’s College of Computing and Informatics, where she focused on digital privacy and vulnerability. Her research examines the development of safe and ethical technologies, focusing on the impacts of complex surveillance systems and legal ecosystems, as well as the emerging relationships between identities, shifting norms around privacy and surveillance, and the data collected by privacy-invasive social media algorithms. This work bridges studies on reproductive privacy, teens’ privacy in relation to these algorithms, and broader privacy concerns in the digital age. Positioned at the intersection of HCI, social computing, and critical computing, her work is published in leading venues such as CHI, CSCW, TOCHI, PETS, and USENIX.