At my event, the Privacy Law Salon, we have a wonderful tradition of showing some of the year’s funniest privacy videos after dinner. I thought I’d share some of the videos I have enjoyed the most, plus some new ones I recently found.
Cookies
In Every time you try and go on a website, British comedian Stevie Martin engages in an absolutely hilarious dialogue with Lola-Rose Maxwell. The pacing of their back-and-forth is perfect.
Passwords
When you forget your password is another brilliant video by Stevie Martin. The comedic timing is impeccable.
This commercial by Password Minder doesn’t intend to be comedy, but that makes it even funnier.
This clip from Jimmy Kimmel involving interviews of people about passwords is funny . . . and frightening.
Spam Emails
In, This Is What Happens When You Reply to Spam Email, comedian James Veitch describes his hilarious trolling of a marketing spam email.
James Veitch’s sequel might even be funnier than the original: More Adventures in Replying to Spam. Marketers are no match for this ultimate troll.
In Email in Real Life, Tripp and Tyler act out the awkward ways we interact with people via email. In a humorous way, they teach us just how much we’ve come to accept the clunky dimensions of communication by email.
Videoconferencing
Tripp and Tyler are back at it again in Conference Call in Real Life, where they act out the awkward aspects of videoconferencing. This is a great way to laugh at our Zoom fatigue.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
This funny scene from the great TV show, Silicon Valley, involves a lesson in COPPA. It’s so rare to see privacy law mentioned in TV shows or movies, and in this show, privacy law actually plays quite a big role in the story arc across many episodes. Perhaps the FTC paid off the producers to add this to the show . . .
Robots and CAPCHA
In Verifying that you’re not a robot, it’s Stevie Martin again with another virtuoso comedic performance! She’s incredibly talented.
Data Collection and Use
This video by Adam Ruins Everything, called The Terrifying Cost of “Free,” captures the consumer privacy dystopia in a darkly comedic way.
Social Media Privacy
This video, Social Media Privacy, by Habitu8 illustrates how people are often unaware of how much personal data they share on social media.
Dark Patterns and Marketing
Steve Martin does it again, with Buying literally anything online. It’s a hilarious video involving dark patterns and incessant marketing.
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This post was authored by Professor Daniel J. Solove, who through TeachPrivacy develops computer-based privacy and data security training. He also posts at his blog at LinkedIn, which has more than 1 million followers.
Professor Solove is the organizer, along with Paul Schwartz, of the Privacy + Security Forum an annual event designed for seasoned professionals.
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