For years, Gwen Shaffer has been main Lengthy Seashore, Calif. residents on “knowledge walks,” stating public Wi-Fi routers, safety cameras, good water meters, and parking kiosks. The purpose, in keeping with the professor of journalism and public relations at California State University, Long Beach, was to be taught how residents felt concerning the methods wherein their metropolis collected knowledge on them.
She additionally recognized a crucial hole in smart city design at this time: Whereas cities might disclose how they acquire knowledge, they not often provide methods to decide out. Shaffer spoke with IEEE Spectrum concerning the expertise of main knowledge walks, and about her analysis workforce’s efforts to present residents extra management over the info collected by public applied sciences.
What was the inspiration to your knowledge walks?
Gwen Shaffer: I started facilitating knowledge walks in 2021. I used to be finding out residents’ consolation ranges with city-deployed applied sciences that acquire personally identifiable info. My first profession as a political reporter has influenced my analysis method. I really feel strongly about conducting utilized slightly than theoretical analysis. And I all the time go right into a examine with the purpose of serving to to resolve a real-world problem and inform coverage.
How did you arrange the walks?
Shaffer: We posted data privacy labels with a QR code that residents can scan and learn how their knowledge are getting used. Downtown, they’re in Spanish and English. In Cambodia Town, we did them in Khmer and English.
What occurred throughout the walks?
Shaffer: I’ll provide you with one instance. In a few the city-owned parking garages, there are automated license-plate readers on the entrance. So after I did the info walks, I talked to our members about how they really feel about these scanners. As a result of as soon as they’ve your license plate, in case you’ve parked for fewer than two hours, you possibly can breeze proper via. You don’t owe cash.
Responses have been contextual and typically contradictory. There have been residents who mentioned, “Oh, yeah. That’s so handy. It’s a time saver.” So I believe that exhibits how residents are keen to make trade-offs. Intellectually, they hate the thought of the privateness violation, however in addition they love comfort.
What stunned you most?
Shaffer: One of many members mentioned, “After I go to the airport, I can decide out of the facial scan and nonetheless have the ability to get on the airplane. But when I wish to take part in so many actions within the metropolis and never have my knowledge collected, there’s no choice.”
There was a cyberattack against the city in November 2023. Regardless that we didn’t have a immediate asking about it, individuals introduced it up on their very own in nearly each focus group. One mentioned, “I’d by no means hook up with public Wi-Fi, particularly after the town of Lengthy Seashore’s website was hacked.”
What’s the app your workforce is growing?
Shaffer: Residents need company. In order that’s what led my analysis workforce to attach with privateness engineers at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. Norman Sadeh and his workforce had developed what they referred to as the IoT Assistant. So I informed them about our mission, and proposed adapting their app for city-deployed applied sciences. Our plan is to present residents the chance to train their rights beneath the California Consumer Privacy Act with this app. So they might say, “Passport Parking app, delete all the info you’ve already collected on me. And don’t acquire any extra sooner or later.”
This text seems within the December 2025 print concern as “Gwen Shaffer.”
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