20 NGOs from across the world published a common statement about their serious concerns on Google's access to health data with the planned takeover of Fitbit.
Data Privacy
Technological development has always outpaced privacy concerns, but never more so than in the past decade. Collection and centralization of personally identifiable information (PII), tracking of movements and digital surveillance are all at unprecedented levels. Regulations and laws are only just beginning to catch up to the ability of both governments and private entities to deploy these capabilities.
What exactly is there to worry about? The mass collection and centralization of data by giant multinationals such as Facebook and Google is as good of a place to start as any. Two decades of vacuuming up the personal data of users of various online services has created the most impressive marketing capabilities in history, but these profiles have astounding potential for damage when they are used the wrong way or fall into the wrong hands.
Unauthorized information that is captured in data breaches tends to find its way to massive “combo lists” that are sold and traded on the dark web. Social security numbers are added from this breach, home addresses and phone numbers from that one, personal health information from yet another. Soon, a frighteningly complete profile of millions of individuals is available to anyone willing to pay the asking price.
These are just the established data privacy issues. The emerging ones are even worse. High-quality facial recognition technology is just beginning to roll out across the public places of some countries. Artificial intelligence is not only making mass facial recognition possible, but magnifies the power and reach of any application that involves capturing and sorting information: scanning pictures, analyzing speech, sifting through text and location data. This threatens to not only shatter anonymity and privacy, but allow for highly advanced impersonation and take the concept of “identity theft” to new levels.
Some businesses chafe at the trouble and added expense of new and emerging data privacy regulations, but they are vital to both protecting rights and privacy and instilling confidence in end users. Customers want to be able to submit their payment information without worry about data breaches and identity theft, use services without wondering what is being done with their personal information and use devices without fear of surveillance or having location data tracked. The need for meaningful safeguards only grows greater as technological capabilities increase.
Drones that were once used only for military purposes have now entered the private sector. With the surveillance culture that is permeating almost every part of modern society, drone surveillance using not just cameras but facial recognition software, IR technology, and speakers are an unprecedented threat to privacy.
From a consumer and business standpoint, encryption is a boom, but it’s also providing a major stumbling block for law enforcement and enterprise investigation teams. How then can investigators lawfully gather evidence from encrypted messaging apps while protecting privacy?
Ruby Zefo, CPO of Uber, talks about her career and and shares her thoughts on the theology of privacy, which she breaks down into three pillars of challenges – laws, customers and technology.
In this article, Mary Thel Mundin examines the recently implemented rules and regulations of the Data Privacy Act of the Philippines (RA 10173) and the implications for organisations that handle personal data both within the borders of the Philippines and those who handle personal data and have links to the Philippines.
A new Thailand cybersecurity law went into effect last week, and is controversial more for what it doesn't specify than what it does. As it is worded, it appears to give the Thai government very broad powers to monitor internet use, censor content and even seize property without court orders.
Apple and Google are developing a unified contact tracing app for coronavirus, however much work is needed from the two tech giants to address consumer privacy and coverage concerns.
In a landmark decision for the EU-US data transfer regime, the European Court has struck down the EU-US Privacy Shield but given respite to Standard Contractual Clauses.
If you’re going to download freemium mobile apps, just make sure you know the true cost of paying for a product - possibly having your information compromised or your privacy violated.
Search engines provide an indispensable service but there is a data privacy tradeoff. The cost is a certain level of intrusion into our lives by gathering data about our online habits and monetizing that data.