Panel: Incorporating Privacy into Design of Assistive Technologies for Persons with Disabilities
Date: October 7, 2025
Time: 2:30 – 3;20 pm
Assistive technologies can be profoundly useful tools for persons with disabilities, but they can also pose user privacy risks. Many assistive technologies require users to divulge disability, health, or location-related data in order to use them; if these tools are not designed with privacy in mind, that sensitive information may be divulged to third parties, including advertising. Consumers prefer companies that invest in privacy — and this session will provide developers, entrepreneurs, and disability advocates with tips and tools for prioritizing data and personal privacy in their business models and strategies.
- Ariana Aboulafia, Disability Rights Project Lead, Center for Democracy and Technology
- Henry Claypool, Technology Policy Consultant, American Association of People with Disabilities
- Maitreya Shah, Director of Technology Policy, American Association of People with Disabilities
- Achi Mishra, PhD Student, Technology and Social Behavior Program Northwestern University