Eamonn Maguire

Engineering Director, Machine Learning & AI at Proton, where he leads work on privacy-preserving AI and machine-learning systems including Lumo, Proton Scribe, anti-abuse, and account-security features.

Children’s Data Profiles Can Begin Before Birth

Proton engineering director Eamonn Maguire argues that a child’s digital profile can begin before birth, as parents’ emails, searches and sign-ups create signals that advertising and platform systems can use to infer pregnancy, family status and future behavior. Speaking with Craig Smith, Maguire uses Proton’s Born Private initiative, which lets parents reserve an email address for a child, to make a broader case that privacy is an infrastructure decision made long before children can consent. He extends the argument to social media, AI training data and the limits of trusting platforms whose business models depend on profiling.

Eye on AIMay 27, 202617 min read