Jonathan A. Obar, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication & Media Studies. He serves as Associate Director of York University's Centre for AI and Society. He is also a Research Fellow with the Quello Center, a media and information policy research centre at Michigan State University, where he previously worked for four years. His teaching and research focus on AI governance, information and communication policy, and the relationship between digital technologies, civil liberties and the inclusiveness of public cultures. Recent academic publications address artificial intelligence (AI) and online privacy, online consent and information protections, internet governance and corporate transparency, and network neutrality. He is co-editor of Strategies for Media Reform: International Perspectives.

Dr. Obar has served as a Research Fellow with the public policy think tank the New America Foundation and the media reform organization Free Press, as a researcher with the Open Society Foundations, and as a Senior Advisor to the Wikimedia Foundation’s Wikipedia Education Program.

Dr. Obar has a Master of Arts degree in Media Studies from Syracuse University and a PhD in Mass Communications from Penn State University.

Research Interests

Current Courses

Term	Course Number	Section	Title	Type
Winter 2026	GS/CMCT5503 3.0	M	Media Ethics	SEMR
Winter 2026	AP/CMDS1401 3.0	M	The Future of Journalism	LECT

Jonathan A. Obar, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication & Media Studies. He serves as Associate Director of York University's Centre for AI and Society. He is also a Research Fellow with the Quello Center, a media and information policy research centre at Michigan State University, where he previously worked for four years. His teaching and research focus on AI governance, information and communication policy, and the relationship between digital technologies, civil liberties and the inclusiveness of public cultures. Recent academic publications address artificial intelligence (AI) and online privacy, online consent and information protections, internet governance and corporate transparency, and network neutrality. He is co-editor of Strategies for Media Reform: International Perspectives.

Dr. Obar has served as a Research Fellow with the public policy think tank the New America Foundation and the media reform organization Free Press, as a researcher with the Open Society Foundations, and as a Senior Advisor to the Wikimedia Foundation’s Wikipedia Education Program.

Dr. Obar has a Master of Arts degree in Media Studies from Syracuse University and a PhD in Mass Communications from Penn State University.

Recent Research:

Defining and Assessing Data Privacy Transparency: A Third Study of Canadian Internet Carriers. International Journal of Communication.

Older Adults and "The Biggest Lie on the Internet": From Ignoring Social Media Policies to the Privacy Paradox. International Journal of Communication (with Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch).

The Biggest Lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services. Information, Communication and Society (with Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch).

The Clickwrap: A Political Economic Mechanism for Manufacturing Consent on Social Media. Social Media + Society (with Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch).

Social Media Definition and the Governance Challenge. Telecommunications Policy (with Steve Wildman).

Internet Surveillance and Boomerang Routing: A Call for Canadian Network Sovereignty. CCA Proceedings (with Andrew Clement).

Canadian Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of Social Media Adoption and Perceived Affordances by Advocacy Groups Looking to Advance Activism in Canada. Canadian Journal of Communication.

Reconciling Political and Economic Goals in the Net Neutrality Debate. Information Society (with Johannes Bauer).

Closing the Technocratic Divide? Activist Intermediaries, Digital Form Letters, and Public Involvement in FCC Policy Making. International Journal of Communication (Network Neutrality Special Issue).

Degrees

PhD in Mass Communications, Penn State University
MA in Media Studies, Syracuse University
BA in Communication Studies and Humanities, York University

Research Interests

Current Courses

Term	Course Number	Section	Title	Type
Winter 2026	GS/CMCT5503 3.0	M	Media Ethics	SEMR
Winter 2026	AP/CMDS1401 3.0	M	The Future of Journalism	LECT