New Media M.A. Research Blog | Media Studies, University of Amsterdam

Make voting safe again? A selection and as-sessment of contemporary technologies in relation to their integration with i-Voting

By conducting an academic literature review along with an empirical analysis of the Estonian i-Voting system, our aim was to identify weaknesses in the i-Voting infrastructure, and assess whether biometric technologies can be implemented to help alleviate issues and...

By Mandy Theel on 10/25/17 Comments Off

Growing up on YouTube – How family vloggers are establishing their children’s digital footprints for them

The internet knows what you shared on Facebook last week. It sees what video you posted on YouTube. It even knows you’re reading this blog post right now. Every action you make online creates a trail of data or...

By Frederike Lichtenstein on 10/23/17 Comments Off

“ToScan”: Media Literacy and Understanding of Terms of Service

We are posing the question “how can we operationalise a form of privacy literacy in order to better understand social media terms of service?” In this research we engage in an academic debate and as an end result propose...

By Gergana Ivanova on 10/21/17 Comments Off

iPhone Face ID: Privacy issues we should worry about

On September 12th 2017, the new iPhone X was introduced by CEO Tim Cook during an Apple event that took place at the Steve Jobs Theatre in the Apple Park. Due to its features, this smartphone is considered to be the most...

By Amber de Zeeuw on 09/25/17 Comments Off

Using Personal Data to buy Art: The Data Dollar Store

Recently, Kaspersky Lab has been in the news due to so-called suspicious activity within their security software system and a supposed link with the Russian government. Both TechCrunch and Wired state that the Department of Homeland Security has “banned...

By Nadine Werner on 09/24/17 Comments Off

New Google Feed: What about privacy?

In July of this year, Google Inc. delivered a new feature for its Google app called Feed. This addition transforms the front page of the app into a news and information feed, where news articles and suggestions are presented...

By Katliin Soosalu on 09/24/17 Comments Off

Netflix and Choose? Choice, Recommendation and Streaming in an Age of Algorithmic Culture

Have you ever had that moment on “Movie Night”, when the pizza is on it’s way, the ice cream is cooling in the freezer and all you need to do is decide on which dystopian thriller to watch...

By Louie Oestreicher on 09/24/17 Comments Off

Is Apple our Online-Privacy Vigilante?

Abstract: Apple purports that its new Intelligent Tracking Prevention Technology integrated in Safari browser prevents 3rd-party cookies from collecting users’ data, therefore, reducing online ads, and ultimately protecting users’ privacy. This paper challenges this by arguing that ITP’s functionality...

By K. Abdulghani on 09/24/17 Comments Off

The Kakao Empire: The South Korean Example of a Digitalized Lifestyle

In South Korea, you can do everything with Kakao. You can send an ice cream cake to your friends, get updates about new mobile games, manage a bank account, call a taxi and much, much more. Although it may...

By Trisha Lee on 09/24/17 Comments Off

Natural Cycles: Where pregnancy meets privacy

People use apps on a daily basis, or as Apple would say: “there is an app for that”. Apps are used for checking weather forecasts, reading the news and even finding – online – love. Nowadays, apps are even...

By Donna Wielinga on 09/24/17 Comments Off

Facial ID scanning: An advertisers’ dream, or a consumers’ nightmare?

A couple of weeks ago, a traveler noticed a camera in one of the digital advertising screens at a train station in the Netherlands. A photo of this ‘hidden’ camera was then posted on Twitter, questioning the purpose of these...

By Els Versluis on 09/24/17 Comments Off

What Apple’s new cookie blocker says about platforms and privacy

Apple’s new built-in cookie blocker may be welcomed by most consumers, but what does it say about the power yielded by the company, which maintains vast amounts of data on its own users? If platforms are allowed to make...

By Liam Corcoran on 09/24/17 Comments Off

‘M’ Assistant – a New Territory For Advertising

‘M’ is an Artificial Intelligent virtual assistant inside Messenger which aims to be helpful to its users when appropriate. M Assistant analyzes their normal conversation on Messenger and pops up to suggest one of the features within the app...

By Gergana Ivanova on 09/24/17 Comments Off

Painting your password on your face: Apple´s new Face ID and its implications on the security of its users.

On the 12th of September, Apple launched their new flagship model, the iPhone X. As usual, it was either met with oohs and aahs, or it was met with cynicism. This article will not focus on the price, design...

By Jimi Cornelisse on 09/24/17 Comments Off

iPhone X: The end of privacy?

“The future is here” is a bold statement to make, but it’s one that Apple uses on their website to introduce their latest smartphone offering. The apocalyptically named ‘iPhone X’. It was unveiled this month to a fanfare of...

By Steven Ecott on 09/23/17 Comments Off

Breaking the illusion of Control: “Home -1.0”

Introduction: Idea and Aim of the Project A recent innovation towards ultimate control is Apple’s “Home” app, which can command all smart devices in a house, from lamps to locks. But who gains power with this app? Is it...

By Michel Blonk on 10/21/16 Comments Off

Artificial Intelligence Defeats People’s Privacy

Last week a Tweet by The Guardians’s writer David Shariatmadari showed how Google Maps tried to take a bullock’s privacy serious by blurring its face. The bullock was thereby treated the same as humans when it comes to their...

By Elsemieke Vermijs on 09/22/16 Comments Off

Gab.ai: Freedom of (conservative) speech?

A few weeks ago a Norwegian journalist posted the Pullitzer Prize-winning ‘napalm girl’ photograph on Facebook. But instead of founding the intended discussion, he found his account suspended and the picture removed. The picture contained nudity, which may not...

By Joep Voorn on 09/22/16 Comments Off

Want to join ISIS? Google it!

So, let’s say that you are interested in becoming an ISIS terrorist. What are you going to do? Probably Google it, like you would in any other situation. The Redirect Method Over the last year Jigsaw, an Alphabet...

By Manon vanHoek on 09/19/16 Comments Off

Safety Net – Play With Privacy or It Will Play You

Have you ever used a website that uses cookies? “Liked” a photo on Facebook? Geo-tagged your location in a post or used Google Maps? Of course you have. But were you aware of how the information you...

By Deniz Gulsoken on 10/16/15 Comments Off

Should you be worried by a networked street light?

This summer something remarkable happened in Amsterdam, in six weeks time an open source network was installed that covers an area encompassing the city center and beyond: The Things Network. This was done with a new networking technology –...

By Charlie Vielvoye on 09/17/15 Comments Off

The Companion: App which walks you home

Walking home at night can be a pretty terrifying experience. If you ever had to walk home through eerie suburban streets at 2 am., you know how it feels. That is why five college students in the US created an application...

By Radvile Dauksyte on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Hey Siri, do you spy on me?

Hey Siri, a feature which comes along with the new Iphone 6S has caused quite a stir when it became known that Siri (Apples Artificial Intelligence integration) could be activated on command by just calling “Hey Siri” to your device. This functionality...

By Rosa Boon on 09/14/15 Comments Off

In the name of privacy

As technologies get more and more advanced in tracking, monitoring, and data analysis, the issue of privacy has become a very relevant topic and a much discussed debate. The digital footprint is one of the key terms that is...

By Jan-Jaap Heine on 10/17/14 Comments Off