Press & Media

Editorials & Essays

• “How Contextual Integrity can help us with Research Ethics in Pervasive Data” Medium (July 25, 2018)
• “OkCupid and the Ethics of Big Data Research” Ampersand (PRIM&R) (June 3, 2016)
• “OkCupid Study Reveals the Perils of Big-Data Science” Wired (May 14, 2016)
• “Mark Zuckerberg’s theory of privacy” The Washington Post (February 4, 2014)
• “Facebook’s Censorship Problem” The Huffington Post (April 22, 2011)
• “How to Win Friends and Manipulate People” [with Chris Hoofnagle] The Huffington Post  (June 2, 2010)

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Selected Press Mentions & Interviews

2023

• WUWM Lake Effect, “The privacy concerns at the heart of Wisconsin’s TikTok ban” (January 30, 2023)
• Popular Science, “Police use AI to analyze body cam audio” (February 10, 2023)
• The Washington Post, “TikTok loves true confessions. Colleges, not so much” (February 16, 2023)
• Science, “Twitter’s plan to cut off free data access evokes ‘fair amount of panic’ among scientists” (February 17, 2023)
• AML Conversations (podcast), “An Interview with Dr. Michael Zimmer” (March 13, 2023)
• The New York Times, “We Need to Talk (Just as Soon as I Consult ChatGPT)” (March 24, 2023)
• CBS58, “GOP lawmaker wants to drastically limit minors’ access to social media, fine companies that don’t impose restrictions” (April 17, 2023)

2022

• Fox6Milwaukee, “Tracking technology advances faster than Wisconsin laws” (March 16, 2022)
• CBS58, “Social media experts are skeptical of Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter” (April 26, 2022)
• Vox media “Land of the Giants” podcast, “Facebook Gets a Facelift“ (July 13, 2022)
• The New York Times, “LinkedIn Ran Social Experiments On 20 Million Users Over Five Years” (September 24, 2022)
• TMJ4, “Truth Be Told: Campaign ad accuses Tim Michels of tracking women near abortion clinics” (October 11, 2022)
• The Morning Show (Wisconsin Public Radio), “Security and extremism on social media” (December 7, 2022)
• Milwaukee Business Journal, “Ten People to Know in Technology” (December 16, 2022) 

2021

• American Association for the Advancement of Science, “AAAS Project to Promote Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Kicks Off with Public Opinion Work” (January 21, 2021)
• Pew Research Center, “Experts Say the ‘New Normal’ in 2025 Will Be Far More Tech-Driven, Presenting More Big Challenges” (February 18, 2021)
• Pew Research Center, “Experts Doubt Ethical AI Design Will Be Broadly Adopted as the Norm Within the Next Decade” (June 16, 2021)
• Gizmodo, “We’re Making the Facebook Papers Public. Here’s Why and How” by Dell Cameron, Andrew Couts, and Shoshana Wodinsky. (November 22, 2021) 
• Medical Ethics Examiner, “IRBs Face Unique Ethics Questions About Big Data Research” (December 1, 2021)

2020

• Association for Computing Machinery, “People of ACM” (April 20, 2020) 
• SENTIO: an interdisciplinary social science journal, “Navigating ethics in the digital age: an interdisciplinary approach (interview with Michael Zimmer).” (October 2020)
• Gizmodo, “Could Someone Hack My Microchip Implant?” (October 5, 2020)
• Experience Magazine, “If an app can help you spy, can you resist?” (December 9, 2020)

2019

• WUWM Radio, “Computer Experts Discuss The Balancing Act Of Big Data & Ethics” (May 2, 2019)
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Marquette University employees sign up for fitness trackers that record their steps, sleep” (June 16, 2019)
• Communications of the ACM, “Who Owns Your Face?” (June 18, 2019)
• Los Angeles Times, “Shadowy data brokers make the most of their invisibility cloak” (November 5, 2019)

2018

• Salon, “This company will implant a microchip under your skin. Who wouldn’t want that?” (August 21, 2018)
• American Libraries, “Data Collection and Privacy” (September 4, 2018)
• Communications of the ACM, “Chip Implants Get Real ” (October 23, 2018)
• Communications of the ACM, “The New Face of Law Enforcement” (November 6, 2018)
• Harpers Magazine, “Preservation Acts: Toward an ethical archive of the web” (December 2018)

2017

• All Things Considered (National Public Radio), “Library Of Congress Announces It Will Be Selective In Which Tweets It Archives” (December 27, 2017)
• WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio, “PERVADE Tackles Ethical Questions on Big Data Use” with Joy Powers (October 9, 2017)
• FOX 6 News, “‘Something you’ll never forget:’ Experts new recommendations for picking a secure password
• ABC News, “Microchip implants chart new territory, but some experts say they are an ethical nightmare” (August 3, 2017)
• The Washington Post, “Some feared hackers and the devil. Others got microchipped” (August 1, 2017)
• All Things Considered (National Public Radio), “This Wisconsin ‘Chip Party’ Doesn’t Come With Cheese Dip” (July 30, 2017)
• The Joy Cardin Show (Wisconsin Public Radio), “Should Businesses Microchip Their Employees?” (July 27, 2017)
• Associated Press, “Cyber staff: Wisconsin company offers to microchip employees” by Ivan Moreno (July 26, 2017)
• Thrive Global, “Tech Companies May Soon Know More About Your Emotions Than You Do” by Drake Baer (May 5, 2017)

2016

• New York Magazine, “How Facebook Can Fix Its Fake-News Problem” by Drake Baer (November 14, 2016)
• Software Engineering Daily, “Zuckerberg Files With Michael Zimmer and Nick Proferes” podcast (September 28, 2016)
• The Wall Street Journal, “WhatsApp to Share User Data With Facebook” by Deepa Seetharaman and Brian Fitzgerald (August 25, 2016)
• The Atlantic, “Can Twitter Fit Inside the Library of Congress?” by Andrew McGill (August 4, 2016)
• WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio, “Big Data Research Creates Ethical Concerns” with Joy Powers (May 31, 2016)

2015

• International Business Times, “Facebook ‘Real Name’ Policy Change Could Protect Vulnerable Users From Doxing And Other Online Hazards” by Mike Brown (December 15, 2015)
• The Guardian, “Ted Cruz using firm that harvested data on millions of unwitting Facebook users” by Harry Davies (December 11, 2015)
• International Business Times, “Obama’s ‘Precision Medicine’ Database: How Safe And Private Is The Patient Data?” by Amy Nordrum (February 2, 2015)

2014

• Motherboard, “Why Librarians Are Defending Your Right to Watch Porn at the Library” by Kaleigh Rogers (December 11, 2014)
• Chicago Tribune, “Internet controversy costs Orland library $125,000 in legal bills” by Lauren Zumbach (September 2, 2014)

2013

• Numerous press mentions regarding launch of The Zuckerberg Files
• National Public Radio (WBUR), Here & Now, “To Change Your Search Results, It Will Cost You” (August 13, 2013)
• CNN.com, ” That Twitter Account Might Not Be Who You Think” by Todd Leopold (April 9, 2013)

2012

• Chronicle of Higher Education, “As Libraries Go Digital, Sharing of Data Is at Odds With Tradition of Privacy” by Marc Parry (November 5, 2012)
• The New York Times, “Big Data on Campus” by Marc Parry (July 18, 2012)

2011

• Chronicle of Higher Education, “Harvard Researchers Accused of Breaching Students’ Privacy” by Marc Parry (July 10, 2011)

2010

• CBC News, “How to Check Out of Facebook’s New Personal Locator” by Denoja Kankesan (August 24, 2010)
• NBCNews.com, “Facebook Places: Be Your Friends’ ‘Big Brother?’“(August 23, 2010)
• National Public Radio’s Science Friday, “Protecting Your Privacy on Social Networking Sites” (May 21, 2010)
• CBSNews.com, “Google Book Search? Try Google Library” by Tom Krazit (February 24, 2010)
• National Public Radio’s Morning Edition “Groups Complain To FTC About Facebook Changes” by Martin Kaste (January 4, 2010)

2006-2009

• The New York Times, “Privacy Missing From Google Books Settlement” by Robert McMillan (August 28, 2009)
• Technology Review, “Social Networks Keep Privacy in the Closet” by Erica Naone (June 11, 2009)
• GQ, “Boy Genius of the Year: Do You Trust This Face?” by Alex French (December 2008)
• Eagle Eye (Two-Disc Special Edition), “Is My Cellphone Spying on Me?” DVD Commentary (December 27, 2008)
• Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “OneWebDay Highlights Power of Net” by Stanley A. Miller II (September 28, 2008)
• Technology Review, “Maintaining Multiple Personas Online” by Erica Naone (February 11, 2008)
• Montreal Gazette, “All Eyes on You” (March 3, 2007)
• The Boston Globe, “Online Plagiarism Strikes Blog World” by Maura Welch (May 8, 2006)