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The Conversation ·Behind the news

Privacy Isn’t Dead – It’s Just That Tech Companies Have Made It Inconvenient

by Sandra Matz, Professor of Business, Columbia University

Published 2026-05-27 12:33:11+00:00

If privacy is a right, why has it become so difficult for most people to protect?

0:00 / 7:16 · Narrator Sulafat

Context

Writing on 27 May 2026, the author considers the friction between valuing personal data and the exhaustion of protecting it. The piece observes how tech companies rely on mental shortcuts—like the idea that convenience is a fair trade for surveillance—to maintain the status quo. Rather than scolding the individual for clicking "accept," the focus shifts to why the burden of privacy shouldn't rest on the user at all. It offers a perspective on building systems that deserve trust rather than just demanding it.

Show notes

An examination of the psychological fallacies that lead individuals to surrender digital privacy in exchange for convenience. The analysis identifies how mental shortcuts regarding data utility and personal safety mask long-term risks, and proposes a shift from individual responsibility toward systemic solutions such as privacy-by-design standards and collective data governance.

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