Alondra Rodriguez Solis

Before coming into the Coleman Lab, when I thought about what fell under the branch of privacy, my view was narrow as I only ever pictured mass surveillance. Now as I am wrapping up my work on the International Privacy Literacy Project Team, I have the opportunity to reflect upon the vast privacy related matters that I have gotten to explore including understanding privacy on ridesharing applications and data collection. As a member of the International project team, I worked on translating and modifying Wikipedia articles in my second language which is Spanish. I did so by uploading three articles related to privacy which I translated from their English versions and added citations, additional information, or fixed potential errors. To improve already existing articles on privacy, we were tasked with working with five articles per week making changes and edits we felt were necessary to fit with a well formatted and well written article.My Wikipedia experience working with the Spanish version opened my eyes to the importance of accurate and accessible information on the platform.

On a monthly basis we held data entry nights in which the entire team would gather through Zoom to put together resources for current news, general informational content, and thorough research articles on privacy related matters. This has showcased to me the policies, concerns, and general technicalities of privacy related matters such as location tracking and surveillance equipment. Typically, Wikipedia is the first platform to pop up when doing any initial internet search, so I took my responsibility very seriously in adding, clarifying, and citing sources to create better articles. 

One of my biggest takeaways from conducting research, in order to gather information for some of the articles I was looking to improve, was the importance of good, quality sources and the value they bring in ensuring that Wikipedia lives up to a standard when being accessed in a normal classroom setting. When looking at privacy related articles in Spanish, I came across lots of articles that were missing citations. I felt that it was necessary to spend my time looking for where these pieces of information came from because I see Wikipedia as an exploratory resource in which students can look beyond a summary and explore the sources listed in order to fully immerse themselves in the topic they are looking for. Having been exposed to editing articles much before beginning to work with my own unique article based on privacy with ride sharing applications, I had gathered some knowledge on the extensive data collected that can be collected through a single app which includes payment information, contacts, and social media. And while these features may be convenient, as consumers we likely don’t take the time to read about the potential downsides of such information storage. With this foundational understanding, which was also aided by conversations held on data nights and virtual discussion posts with my labmates I was able to look beyond the potential abuses but also look at potential solutions that could protect the consumer in staying anonymous such as locations being offset to not link one specific user to said location. Knowing that there are possible solutions really helped in building my perspective on taking action through advocacy, accountability, and most importantly the role of user education. 

As I was approaching posting my first article, I did feel some nervousness in hoping my evaluations and suggestions to the articles I was assigned were up to the standards of both the lab and the Wikipedia space itself. However, I was able to remind myself of the extensive support and encouragement from my fellow lab members and the leadership team who have been extremely helpful and attentive. I was also able to utilize my access to the Berkeley online libraries which made sure I was prepared and knowledgeable on the topics. The training provided by the Wiki Education page also proved useful and my hope for the future is that they will be provided in the language of each respective lab member moving forward so that process can become even easier and being able to adapt to the platform will be much quicker. 

Editing on Spanish Wikipedia was easy to navigate and closely resembled its English counterpart which made my tasks very manageable. Looking ahead, I hope to continue using the resources I have disposable to me as a UC Berkeley student in order to continue improving Wikipedia and its context on privacy, especially in a time in which technology and policy revolving its use and outreach has and will continue to endure massive changes and transformations. As a member of the lab, I am grateful for the opportunity it has given me to grow as an academic writer and future researcher. I am committed to continuing the goals of this lab and the principles it has taught me in work ethic, perseverance, and motivation to doing greater good in academia.