Last month, Governor Josh Stein formally proclaimed January 28 Data Privacy Day in North Carolina. You’d be forgiven for missing the announcement; “Privacy Day” isn’t exactly the kind of attention-grabbing headline we look for in our daily news feed. Unfortunately, this topic is getting more relevant every day as technologies expand and consumer protections erode.
As the state’s Chief Privacy Officer, Martha Wewer works with her team in the NC Department of Information Technology’s Office of Privacy and Data Protection to educate and advocate for users. She believes one of our biggest blind spots is how we think about “ordinary” consumer data.
“A lot of times, individuals don’t think about consumer data as mattering as much as PII,” Martha says, referring to “personally identifiable information” like Social Security numbers or medical records. “But the consumer data, data that’s collected by our apps or when we scan our cards at the grocery store, that says stuff about us … and that too is valuable.”
Loyalty cards and shopping apps are key ways that users reveal intimate details about their lives, and that data is frequently put up for sale to the highest bidder. It may be convenient to get car wash coupons after buying upholstery cleaner, but other examples can be much more sensitive, such as personal hygiene or medication purchases. Even when data collection is “legal” and meant for marketing, the real‑world impact can be significant.
AI, social media, and a world built to collect everything
The advent of AI is also unraveling personal privacy. In the past, some information that was collected remained unused, simply due to the volume of data. AI has changed that, and the expanded capacity is also leading some social media and communication platforms to increase what they’re collecting.
According to WIRED, recent changes to TikTok’s US privacy policy are an example of how much more detailed and expansive data collection has become. The changes to the policy, coming after the change of ownership to American-majority corporate control, include precise location tracking and AI interactions.
Meanwhile WhatsApp, best known as a “secure” communication tool due to its end-to-end encryption, retains plenty of information, according to the Mozilla Foundation. Personal data, including your IP address, photo, and phone number are available metadata for each account. And using the AI in WhatsApp or connecting to your other Meta accounts (via the Accounts Center) will extend the data shared across platforms and contribute to your ad profile. As a recent Forbes analysis put it, we now live in a world “built to collect everything,” where many of the biggest privacy risks don’t come from breaches, but from routine, authorized collection, sharing, and reuse of data at massive scale.
Martha confirmed that users cannot have a meaningful conversation about AI without talking about the data underneath it. Her top priority for the state government right now is getting better at data classification
“We want to have safe and trustworthy AI use in the state, but we also want to make sure that our data is protected,” she says. “We want to make sure that sensitive data is labeled and indicated in such a way that it doesn’t somehow end up where it shouldn’t be.”
To help deliver on these goals, North Carolina is investing in efforts like the North Carolina AI and Cybersecurity Symposium, which brings together public officials and experts to discuss responsible AI and cyber risk.
Every family needs a “chief privacy officer”
When asked for the one thing she recommends everyone do, Martha doesn’t hesitate: Only share what you truly need to share.
“Fundamental really to data privacy and data protection is only sharing the amount of information you need to share in order to do what it is you’re trying to do,” she says. That might mean deciding a free burrito or extra loyalty points aren’t worth all the personal details an app demands.
She also encourages North Carolina families to talk openly about how everyone uses technology: which apps are allowed, when location services can be on, what can be posted, and where devices can be used.
“Everybody in their family needs to have a chief privacy officer,” Martha says.
Privacy isn’t only about you. The post you share or message you send is only as private as the settings of the people you’re sharing with. In a world where data is constantly collected, the most effective privacy protection still starts at home with informed, thoughtful choices about what you share and why.
