Jonathan Obar

Jonathan Obar, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication & Media Studies at York University. His research focuses on information policy and the relationship between digital technologies, civil liberties and the inclusiveness of public cultures. Academic publications address big data and privacy, online consent processes, data privacy transparency, internet routing and NSA surveillance, network neutrality, and digital activism. With funding from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, he recently launched www.biggestlieonline.com, a knowledge mobilization site to engage stakeholders in meaningful online consent research.

Dr. Obar previously worked as a Research Fellow with the media reform group Free Press, the public policy think tank the New America Foundation, and as a Senior Advisor to the Wikimedia Foundation’s Wikipedia Education Program.