Privacy Issues within Government
Articles and resources about trends and issues relating to privacy within government.
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Data Mining
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Articles and resources about trends and issues in data mining.
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Privacy: Australia, cookies and general articles - Archive
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A selection of privacy resources from Australia as well as general articles and reports, and specific articles about cookies.
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Privacy: overseas - Archive
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A selection of privacy resources from overseas.
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Privacy: United States - Archive
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A selection of privacy resources from the United States.
- Big Data age puts privacy in question as information becomes currency
- Exploiting Big Data's opportunities will need a delicate balance between the right to knowledge and the right of the individual, by Aleks Krotoski. guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 April 2012. "This month, the US chain Walmart bought the startup Social Calendar, one of the most popular calendar apps on Facebook, which lets users record special events, birthdays and anniversaries. More than 15 million registered users have posted over 110m personal notifications, and users receive email reminders totalling over 10m a month..."
- What does privacy mean in an age of big data?
- Author Terence Craig on why data transparency trumps anonymization, by Audrey Watters. O'Reilly Radar, 2 November 2011. "As we do more online — shop, browse, chat, check in, "like" — it's clear that we're leaving behind an immense trail of data about ourselves. Safeguards offer some level of protection, but technology can always be cracked and the goals of data aggregators can shift. So if digital data is and always will be a moving target, how does that shape our expectations for privacy? Terence Craig (@terencecraig), co-author of "Privacy and Big Data," examines this question and related issues in the following interview..."
- More data, more transparency around government requests
- Posted by Dorothy Chou, Senior Policy Analyst. Google public Policy Blog, Tuesday, October 25, 2011. "... Today we’re updating the Government Requests tool with numbers for requests that we received from January to June 2011. For the first time, we’re not only disclosing the number of requests for user data, but we’re showing the number of users or accounts that are specified in those requests too..."
- Is it legal to send your data overseas?
- by David Braue. Sydney Morning Herald, October 11, 2011. "Clearing the fog around cloud sovereignty.
Companies considering moving business information to overseas cloud-computing services must weigh up the potential impact of more than 450 separate Acts of Parliament, experts warn.
While countless Australian businesses are already hosting wesites and applications on cloud services overseas using services from Amazon, Google and Microsoft, Anthony Wong – an intellectual property lawyer who runs AGW Consulting and is current president of the Australian Computer Society – warns they must ensure cloud data doesn't violate strict Australian business laws mandating customer privacy, retention of corporate records, enduring access to information, and so on..."
- Forgetting the Patriot Act is a bit dumb
- By Suzanne Tindal. ZDNet Australia, July 11, 2011. "... Any company with a presence in the US is legally required to respond to a valid demand from the US government for information if the company retains custody or control over the data. This is the case, regardless of where the data is stored or the existence of any conflicting obligations under the laws where the data is located..."
- The truth about data: Once it's out there, it's hard to control
- Jeff Jonas on data ownership, security concerns, and privacy trade offs, by Jenn Webb. O'Reilly Radar, 4 April 2011. "The amount of data being produced is increasing exponentially, which raises big questions about security and ownership. Do we need to be more concerned about the information many of us readily give out to join popular social networks, sign up for website community memberships, or subscribe to free online email? And what happens to that data once it's out there?..."
- To Protect and to Project: Another Take on Digital Privacy
- By Daniel Kaplan. Read Write Web, October 12, 2010. "The subject of "personal data protection," long the exclusive domain of experts and activists, has recently earned its political pedigree. The French Edvige file, the endless extension of Google's services, Facebook's use of personal data, biometric IDs, contact-less chips have all sparked heated public discussions that, in many case, have forced businesses and governments into (albeit temporary) backtracking. Europe's data protection authorities, gathered within the G29, have taken a firm stance (PDF) on issues such as social networking, RFID tags, and video surveillance. In the U.S., the Mecca of contractual freedom, growing numbers now speak out for more encompassing and stricter legislation..."
- World is losing grip on privacy: watchdog
- Next decade will be crucial in protecting personal data, By Vito Pilieci, The Ottawa Citizen, August 17, 2010. "Ottawa - The world has less than a decade to make the protection of personal information and online privacy a priority before the concepts are lost forever, warns Ontario's information and privacy commissioner. Ann Cavoukian says legislation meant to safeguard privacy already can't keep pace with the flow of information and advances in technology..."
- Facebook's Manifest Destiny Runs Into Open Government
- by Nancy Scola. Tech President, May 26, 2010. "Facebook's recent privacy changes reverberated loudly in and out of Washington. With many people grumbling about closing their Facebook accounts, U.S. senators have been making noises about calling in the Federal Trade Commission, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg even took to the Washington Post, DC's morning read, on Monday to issue something of a mea culpa. But some who work in government and in politics are, more quietly, talking about a slightly different problem with what Facebook has done. They're concerned that, in Facebook's quest for Internet ubiquity, the company has stepped into the relationships that government bodies and politicians have been building with citizens on Facebook, a relationship given a boost by President Barack Obama's open government push and one encouraged, aggressively, by Facebook..."
- 10 Nations Demand Online Privacy - Or Else
- By Mike Pearson. TechNewsWorld, 20 April 2010. "Google was the main target of a group of privacy commissioners from 10 nations who held a press event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to air their grievances. They castigated the company over its botched Buzz rollout and criticized its Street View operations. However, other online companies -- such as Facebook and other social networks -- should also take notice, the commissioners warned..."
- Government Transparency Report
- Google. "Transparency is a core value at Google. As a company we feel it is our responsibility to ensure that we maximize transparency around the flow of information related to our tools and services. We believe that more information means more choice, more freedom and ultimately more power for the individual.
We've created Government Requests to show the number of government inquiries for information about users and requests to remove content from our services. We hope this step toward greater transparency will help in ongoing discussions about the appropriate scope and authority of government requests..."
- Greater transparency around government requests
- Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer. Google Public Policy Blog, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. "... [Google] are today launching a new Government Requests tool to give people information about the requests for user data or content removal we receive from government agencies around the world. For this launch, we are using data from July-December, 2009, and we plan to update the data in 6-month increments..."
- Controversial content and free expression on the web: a refresher
- Posted by Rachel Whetstone, Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs. The Official Google Blog, 19 April 2010. "Two and a half years ago, we outlined our approach to removing content from Google products and services. Our process hasn't changed since then, but our recent decision to stop censoring search on Google.cn has raised new questions about when we remove content, and how we respond to censorship demands by governments. So we figured it was time for a refresher. Censorship of the web is a growing problem. According to the Open Net Initiative, the number of governments that censor has grown from about four in 2002 to over 40 today..."
- Cloud computing may spawn compliance as a service
- No silver bullet for cloud compliance, says IDC, by Tim Lohman (Computerworld). CIO, 26 March, 2009. "With the growth of cloud computing, enterprises may soon be having conversations about compliance as a service as they seek to deal with the legislative and compliance requirements around protecting personally identifiable customer data. .."
- Is Privacy a Digital Divide?
- By Ulf Wolf. Digital Citizen Pulse, September 9, 2008. "Perhaps it is not the lack of broadband access, or Wi-Fi spots that comprise the largest digital divide, perhaps it's the lack of confidence in the digital medium itself. In a recent survey nearly half of Californians polled--a full 44 percent--said they never shop online, and another 32 percent said they do so only rarely..."
This category last updated: 23 April 2012