In a growing digital age, the internet and social media has done a lot to bring people together globally. Technological advances in data mining, however, have been increasing the way in which this technology is being used to exploit the privacy of all who use it. The act of data mining is not inherently unethical, but the way user data has been commodified in recent years has led to a myriad of unethical practices and unintended consequences within society. The rapid technological advancement is causing many policies, as well as people’s understanding of this technology, to fall behind. The role data mining plays in our society should be more carefully analyzed by those creating technology, writing technology policy and even the people who are affected by data mining practices on a daily basis. We’ve explored what data mining is, and how it became an integral part of our economy and many companies’ business models. We also looked at how mined data can result in the threat of global security for many different countries around the world. Data is constantly being used to make predictive decisions that most often end up targeting the most vulnerable and reinforcing stereotypes and biases of society. Given the nuance of what data mining is and its effects on society, it is most important to educate those who have the ability to change the trajectory of data mining’s impact going forward. That’s why we designed a course meant to inform students of varying academic backgrounds about the effects data mining has on our communities, and challenge them to think holistically about how we might tackle these issues. We don’t have to accept the implications that the use of these new technologies may bring. Instead, we should begin to question its role and society and hope to invoke change from there.