PEPR '25: 2025 USENIX Conference on Privacy Engineering Practice and Respect

Marc-Antoine Paré


Let's face it: explaining that "differential privacy is like blurring an image" doesn't get very far in communicating how and why this technology should be used. This talk breaks down data visualizations used over the course of a three-year differential privacy project for the Department of Energy that were used to unlock $5MM in funding from grant administrators, convince regulators of the effectiveness of privacy protection, and generate excitement from industry partners for adoption. While past work in this sector failed to get past academic discussions, this project culminated in two large-scale data releases, subject to a strong differential privacy guarantee (ε=4.72 and δ=5.06⋅10^−9). Practitioners will walk away with ideas and inspiration for bridging the variety of communication gaps found in real-life privacy projects.


https://www.usenix.org/conference/pepr25/presentation/pare