Products People Trust: Privacy, Consent, & Security

Presented at Diana Initiative 2020 Virtual, Aug. 21, 2020, noon (60 minutes)

ABSTRACT Most software today collects and tracks as much data as possible with no concern for privacy or user consent. Consumers and regulations are starting to demand change. It's time to focus on building trust with our users. Our products should collect only what data is necessary, should always receive consent before collecting data, and should have proper security in place to protect collected data. AUDIENCE This talk is intended for creators of digital products. Anyone who involved in the design, development, and launch of web and mobile applications and services. The concepts in this talk are simple, but their impact and intricacies when implemented in products are complex and nuanced. Attendees at all levels of experience and career tenure will find value in the concepts of this talk. INTRODUCTION Technology companies are developing a bad reputation for abusing data collection policies and for failing to secure sensitive data they collect from their customers. Silicon Valley values companies that grow fast and have lots of users. In pursuit of these goals and ideal metrics, technology companies make seemingly innocuous decisions to get features out with as much adoption as possible. Unfortunately, this usually means turning on features on by default, automatically opting users in: all without any care around consent of that choice and the data collection and privacy implications that may be associated with a particular feature. It’s not that anyone intentionally made these decisions with ill intent, it’s instead a lack of understanding the indirect implication to privacy, consent, and security of data that these features then introduce to a product or service. This talk will reference real world examples of seemingly simple product and software decisions that lead to loss oftrust, lack of data collection consent, and failure to secure data that was collected. We will also analyze the impact these problems introduce to a business. We will look at practical tips to build trust in your software while designing features for consent with privacy and security in mind. OUTCOMES/CONCLUSION At the end of this talk attendees will have practical advice on building trust into software products. Attendees will leave with a new understanding of the concepts of trust, privacy, consent, and security as it relates to data collection, analysis, and storage within digital applications and services. Attendees will also leave with real world examples to reference and share this knowledge as they build new digital products and services at their companies.

Presenters:

  • Taylor McCaslin 🏳️‍🌈 - Speaker | Career Village Volunteer
    Taylor McCaslin (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary Investor, Product Manager, and Technologist living in Austin, Texas. He currently works as a Senior Product Manager at GitLab focused on Security. Taylor also runs a small angel investing fund focused on impact investing with companies that build ethical products customers trust. Taylor is an advocate and defender of privacy, consent, and inclusion.Taylor graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied business, theatre, computer science, and digital art & media. For the past 5 years, he has worked at enterprise-scale, hyper-growth technology companies including: Duo Security, WP Engine, Indeed.com, Bazaarvoice.When not pushing pixels, coding, or speaking at conferences about technology, Taylor can be found geeking out with the latest Apple gadget, skiing, or enjoying the expansive Austin art scene. He also enjoys volunteering with local human rights, LGBTQ organizations around central Texas, and mentoring young technologists looking to start careers in the technology industry.

Links:

Similar Presentations: