Since its inception four decades ago, the Internet has revolutionized our world. Yet many of its original promises remain unfulfilled and, since the early 2000s, its development has been co-opted by surveillance capitalists whose profit models rely on human behavior and experience as their primary resource. As we traverse the Internet, every click, swipe, scroll, and tap is tracked, collected, sold, and analyzed in attempt to manipulate behavior.
Not only are governments failing to protect their citizens from these exploitative data practices, but they too have long been engaged in dragnet surveillance schemes of their own. The disconcerting realities of the digital age leave Internet users in a difficult position – trapped within structures they never truly consented to and unaware of the puppeteers behind their screens.
As Internet connectivity spreads, a dystopian future hurtles towards us at an exponential pace. This is the threat that The Privacy Issue was founded to address – with accessible, rigorous, and fair journalism and practical strategies for reclaiming our digital rights. Through education and advocacy, we aim to make sense of the complex and interconnected privacy issues facing populations everywhere today. The Privacy Issue is a resource to explore, to question, to investigate, to debate. We hope our readers will sharpen the tools of democracy and help us harness all that’s good about the Internet, allowing it to flourish as the force for freedom it has the potential to be.
About IVPN
The Privacy Issue is an editorial platform established by IVPN, an Internet privacy company founded in 2009. IVPN's mission is to enable humans with the power to control and secure their private information online. The Privacy Issue is a distinct project with an independent editorial voice and decision-making.
Opinions expressed here are not those of IVPN or its parent company Privatus Limited and vice versa. The Privacy Issue recommends a wide variety of technical solutions for stronger digital privacy and cybersecurity, taking into consideration the suggestions of Internet freedom groups worldwide. Occasionally, we will ask the reader to consider IVPN where the conversation is appropriate – in these instances, as with all of our content, we invite critical thinking and rigorous examination.
No Ads, No Third-Party Trackers
The Privacy Issue is proud to represent the growing field of privacy journalism. We hope to be a leader in this space and are dedicated to disrupting the trend of advertising-driven press outlets. As part of that commitment, we do not have any advertisements and we do not expose our readers to any third-party cookies or tracking.
To understand our audience and where our content delivers value, we utilize Matomo, an analytics tool recommended by the Center for Data Privacy Protection in France (CNIL). It is hosted on our own server infrastructure and discards identifying portions of user information to ensure your privacy. Should we collect data in the form of reader surveys, newsletter signups, and feedback forms, we will collect as little personal information as possible and will never monetize that data. Please read our Data Use Policy, written in plain language.
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The Privacy Issue is looking for experienced guest contributors and regular writers who can create original, high-quality content on the topics of privacy, cybersecurity, and digital freedom. We will only consider writers with an established work history in these areas, but we welcome original contributions by journalists, academics, hackers, and infosec professionals. Please contact us using one of the channels above with any pitches, scoops, or inquiries.
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