Karen Louise Smith

Karen Louise Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture & Film at Brock University. Her research focuses on privacy, digital society, and technology policy, particularly exploring tensions between openness, privacy, and participation in technologically mediated culture.

Dr. Smith holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, an MA from Simon Fraser University, and a BA from McMaster University. She teaches courses on social media, data and society, and technology policy. Her work bridges academic research with community engagement, including collaborations with open source software communities and advocacy initiatives.

Her research interests include privacy advocacy through open-source tools, digital policy literacy, and the ethics of data governance. Notable projects include the Add-ons for Privacy initiative, examining how browser extensions foster privacy advocacy, and contributions to policy briefings like submissions to Canada’s Standing Committee on Industry and Technology.

Dr. Smith’s publications span journals like Surveillance & Society and Big Data & Society, addressing topics such as pandemic-era digital access, youth rights in datafied environments, and open-source infrastructure in civic technology. Her work emphasizes participatory approaches to technology design and governance.