
doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3119735
What are the building blocks of safe social spaces? This Article explores this question through a case study of nonconsensual image sharing among queer populations on geosocial dating apps and makes three important and novel contributions to the socio-legal literature on social life online, privacy by design, and cyberexploitation. First, it reports and analyzes the quantitative results of a survey of queer geosocial dating app users, showing that this population is victimized by nonconsensual image sharing at far higher rates than both queer persons, generally, and the broader population. Second, combining these quantitative data with qualitative interviews with queer dating app users and responses to open-ended questions, the Article describes how these apps create powerful norms of disclosure that make it all but required that users share personal information and how users navigate their privacy as a result. Third, based on this case study and a comparison with other social environments of disclosure—Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, teams of coworkers, and attorney-client relationships—the Article argues that safe social spaces are created when norms of disclosure are balanced by equally as powerful norms of trust backed by law. The Article then shows how law plays an essential role in creating and maintaining those norms of trust and protecting users from invasions of privacy.
Section 230, Privacy Law, Internet Law, Privacy threats, Disclosure, Information fiduciaries, First Amendment, Torts, Products liability, Consumer Protection Law, Technosocial spaces, Science and Technology Law, Law, Safe social spaces
Section 230, Privacy Law, Internet Law, Privacy threats, Disclosure, Information fiduciaries, First Amendment, Torts, Products liability, Consumer Protection Law, Technosocial spaces, Science and Technology Law, Law, Safe social spaces
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