Privacy Chats with Rachel and John

We all know the saying: nothing is certain except death and taxes. But in today’s digital world, there’s a third certainty— data. In this episode of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John , we ask a big question: what happens to your digital footprint after you die? 💬 From personal anecdotes to platform policies, we explore: ⚰️ The default “limbo” state of accounts on Google, Facebook, and Apple 🛠️ P...

In this episode of Privacy Chats, we explore the growing global momentum behind comprehensive privacy regulations.  With over 140 countries that have embraced laws inspired by the GDPR, Rachel and John zoom in on four frameworks in particular: GDPR (EU), LGPD (Brazil), APPI (Japan), and PIPA (South Korea) — highlighting how they align (and diverge) across key areas including: Scope and extraterrit...

Visual Artifacts Here ! On Episode 33 of Privacy Chats, we revisit the United States’ evolving approach to AI governance, breaking down the latest policy mandates and exploring what they mean for responsible AI procurement, innovation, and public trust. And for a bit of perspective, we rewind the clock—comparing today’s AI frontier to past regulatory turning points, like the rise of the FDA. _____...

This is a 3-part episode, so see below for the time-stamps discussing each topic: 🇪🇺 Europe’s AI Ambitions : 00:00-25:00 The EU is stepping up with new announcements aimed at accelerating its AI strategy. But is it too late to compete with the US and China, and how might this shape their positioning as key global privacy regulators? We unpack the optimism, the funding, and the political will behin...

HIPAA is a critical piece of the nuanced privacy puzzle in the US, but it’s often misunderstood — frequently reduced to just a medical form or mistaken for a blanket privacy law. On Episode 31 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we bring you a HIPAA “crash course” - who it’s for, data in scope, and the consequences of non-compliance.  And, just for fun, here are some silly HIPAA puns brought-to...

On Episode 30 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we take a look back at the eventful-ness of 2025 thus far, including DeepSeek’s shake-up of the global AI tech sector and continuous policy implications of the new US Presidential Administration peeling back previous AI safety mandates. Have AI acceleration priorities eclipsed AI safety priorities? If so, how long will it take for the greatest h...

In Episode 29 of Privacy Chats, Rachel and John cover the growing concerns over cybersecurity and privacy as it relates to Chinese-made consumer technology and how numerous countries have responded to such risks. They discuss the ever-evolving position of the U.S. with respect to TikTok and the downstream effects of our political landscape on U.S.-based Technology companies. ______________________...

Decentralized social media is gaining traction, but is it really the future of online discourse?  Many users are begging for a paradigm shift in how social media platforms are governed today. This stems from growing concerns about mainstream, centralized platforms’ impact on privacy, democracy, mental health, and public discourse.  In episode 28 of Privacy Chats, we investigate the rise of platfor...

Replying to those ridiculous “hi, how are you?” texts sound like innocent fun. But what if there’s something much more complex going on under the surface?  On episode 27 of Privacy Chats with John and Rachel, we investigate the ever-growing popularity of text-based scams, from "warming" phone numbers to "pig butchering" schemes (wild name, huh?) AND “smishing” attempts disguised in everyday transa...

On Episode 27 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we build upon our prior episode uncovering gift card scams - this time, focusing on how scammers trick people into purchasing and sending gift card details under false pretenses - such as fake IRS threats, tech support scams, or impersonation schemes - what they’re used for, why they’re effective, and most importantly, key prevention tips to hel...

Gift cards are a fun way to spread holiday joy, removing the guesswork for the giver while ensuring the recipient gets exactly what they’re looking for…... .until you find that a scammer has interfered in the process!  On Episode 25 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we break down the vulnerabilities and scams associated with gift cards, particularly those involving the theft or misuse of fund...

People often wonder if their phone is listening to them when they see advertisements related to things that they recently discussed, but didn’t search on their phone.  Could this be true?  Is your phone listening to you? On Episode 24 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we look at published findings of other people who have dived into this topic.

Artificial Intelligence continues to move the boundary of hypothetical technologies - such as brain reading devices - closer and closer to reality. How close we are to that boundary today, and where that boundary sits in terms of becoming a threat to privacy and civil liberties, remains a subject of debate. On Episode 23 of Privacy Chats, Rachel and John discuss the progress made in recent neurote...

What will a second Trump term mean for US Privacy and AI Policy? Former president Joe Biden set a record number of Executive Orders into motion related to Artificial Intelligence and National Security into motion during his term, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. FTC Chair Lina Khan pursued legal action against US technology companies in an unprecedented way during Biden’s term and push...

Doxing is “the action or process of searching for and publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet, typically with malicious intent.” - Oxford Languages New technologies, and faster processing of information is making it far easier to find and access information about us.  AI will bring this to the next level allowing for rapid aggregation of disparat...

GenAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence) and AI in general, continues to be all-the-rage, permeating nearly every business conversation involving automation, scalability, and improved insights in the pursuit of minimizing cost and maximizing revenue. Given Privacy and AI are inseparable concepts at their core - what does this increased emphasis on AI mean for professionals subject to these techn...

Privacy Engineering is an essential function of mature Privacy Programs, joining aspects of software engineering, data protection, privacy compliance, and privacy risk management. On the latest episode of Privacy Chats, Rachel interviewed Jay Averitt, a Privacy Engineer at Microsoft, who shares his career journey, how he would describe Privacy Engineering at an “ELI5” level, and what in particular...

Innovation is the spark that ignites the engine of progress, all of which is fueled by cooperation and a mutual interest in creating a better world. We tend to look at privacy from the perspective of what is, rather than from the perspective of what could be.  On Episode 20 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we spin a new narrative on how data could be owned, managed, and distributed in a way...

AI Tool Koe Recast claims that its AI voice-generating software requires just a few sentences of audio to replicate your voice. If that’s not suspicious enough, other options need as little as three seconds to capture and reproduce it to a convincing degree. Long gone are the days of Caller ID Spoofing!  Scammers these days might just be using ChatGPT to help write a convincing story as well. Such...

In this snappy episode within our new “Security for Privacy” (S4P!) series, we challenge your knowledge on password best practices through a fun and engaging quiz format. Tune in to learn what it takes to create resilient passwords and manage them appropriately in 2024 - both for yourself and for your organization! __________________________________________________________________________ Resource...

Impersonation scams are not what they used to be. According to recent FBI research, Americans lost roughly $1.3 billion in 2023 to scammers running impersonation scams. In our new “Security for Privacy” series, Rachel and John dive into the most prevalent form of social engineering today, particularly how scammers disguise themselves as trusted figures and how to identify them before it’s too late...

In Episode 17 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, Rachel shares her synopsis on what may be one of the wildest healthcare privacy breaches to date. As of June 17th, a Texas surgeon is facing federal charges for leaking patient information in an attempt to expose continued gender-affirming care at Texas Children's Hospital, blowing past the boundaries placed by HIPAA to protect sensitive hea...

The EU AI Act was first proposed by the European Commission in April, 2021 and has been working its way through the legislative process ever since. John had a chance to hear from other industry experts about this at the 2024 IAPP Privacy Summit, taking away key insights for discussion. On episode 16 of Privacy Chats, Rachel and John decipher the EU AI Act’s known tenants - such as its focus on imp...

Although Privacy isn’t explicitly called out in the US Constitution, there is a long history of recognizing that people have a right to privacy and that this right can be inferred from several amendments in the U.S. Constitution. In this episode of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, John leans into his studies as a Masters of Privacy Law student at Seton Hall University School of Law to educate u...

In this exciting interview episode of Privacy Chats, Rachel and John have a conversation with Associate DPO (Data Protection Officer) Gonzalo Caro, to deliberate about the recent explosion of Generative AI (“Gen AI”) powered technologies and the implications to personal data processing. Gonzalo supports the Office of the DPO at Meta in Dublin, Ireland, which allows him to share his views about Gen...