Information Privacy Issues in the Information Age

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Information Privacy Issues in the Information Age
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Information Privacy Issues in the Information Age
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Discussion Began when we observed
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Pervasive effect of Data Bases and Data Base
Likages on Normal Life

• Whether we are planning travel, changing tickets,
  getting a driver's license, having a medical
  test, filling a prescription, or buying gasolene,
  we are affecting and using the database of our
  life and our activities.  Now days we drive cars
  with GPS systems that can track our every mile. 
  Don't tell me you went to the library when your
  car was parked in front of the bar for 3 hours.
• Today we inject our pets with simple chips that
  show up an identification number on a special
  scanner.  This chip is used to help find lost
  pets.  In a short time frame, less than 5 years,
  it will be possible perhaps even normal to put a
  chip in our kids that provides us with the
  ability to monitor them constantly.  Similar
  implants are used today to monitor hearts with
  arythmias.  The heart monitoring system could be
  enhanced to include locating systems to notify
  Emergency Medical Services about an individual
  who needs help.
• The director of IT services for charities in Hong
  Kong noted in a conversation that a chip with GPS
  and GSM capability could be used to locate the
  many old folks who had disabilities that caused
  them to wander and get physically lost. Combined
  with heart and respiration monitors, such chips
  and the accompaniing data systems could reduce
  worry and save lives.
• But such systems would also enable great
  intrusion of Big Brother into our lives.

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Good Linkages Bring Joy to Consumers

• We observed that good linkages such as typically
  maintained by travel planning systems brings joy
  to consumers who must deal with changing plans.
  We have observed similar good data linkages, that
  assisted consumers. For instance, if you need a
  prescription filled in the US you can go to many
  drugstores that have access to insurance records
  and get what you need. 
• Some time ago, my sister-in-law visited us. I
  noticed that her car had an oil leak. Even though
  the leak appeared to be minor she needed to take
  it to be fixed. I took her to the repair place we
  often visited. The clerk looked up our records on
  the computer and noted that we were repeat
  customers, so he fixed my visitor's car fast and
  for no charge as a favor to a regular customer as
  identified by the computer.

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Many Linkages were surprises and caused problems

• In our paper we identified many linkages as
  surprises. For instance, Paul lived in
  Masssachusetts and California. When he tried to
  get a driver's license in Florida he was told he
  had a problem in Maine, a state where he never
  lived and only visited a few times.  None of us
  knew that the parking ticket system in Maine
  would be linked to the driver's license system in
  Florida or any place else. Not only was this
  system linked but it was wrong and the only Paul
  received was when he tried to get a license. 

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No Accountability for Errors

• When errors happen such as we described about
  Paul, the client and not the provider of the
  system or the content is accountable for the
  errors that happen. In fact the provider is
  likely never notified that there was an error. 
  Even if the provider felt badly about the error
  there is likely no path to a repair of the system
  or the data.
• As best we can tell, this lack of accountability
  and lack of data repairability is common. Even if
  you fix the errors in one place there is no
  certainty that corrections will propogate to all
  the locations in which the error exists. The
  concept of forward and backward propogation of
  corrections does not exist in the general case.

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What are the rules?
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With Travel Data, Corrections can be entered at
the point of access

• There is a known appeal process
• If the agent needs authority to fix something the
  agent contacts a supervisor

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With Driver's License the job is done

• When the client is informed that a problem exists
• The information provided to the client may be
  wrong
• What matters is that the system provided an
  answer, any answer
• Investigations get triggered only for disastrous
  errors

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Literature Says People Will Share Info for
Benefits
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Privacy Advocates Tend to Protest Sharing

• Demand Opt Out as a minimum
• Want Opt In

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PEW Funded Study says

• People willing to share for benefits
• People want Penalties for misuse of private data
• Cost of Misuse from Internet Use appears to be
  low at present

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Now Enter 9/11
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The Ability to Do Great Harm Does not Require
Traditional Weapons

• The First Attack was dramatic
• Other attacks could be devastating but not
  dramatic

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Loyalty is a State of Mind

• A Concept from WWII and earlier
• Who will some way disrupt "our way of life"

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Travel Security Interview is of necessity cursory

• It does not do the job
• It is annoying
• Airline Executives have requested changes

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Dershowitz asks about the role of technology

• Can Technologies?
• Improve accuracy
• Reduce hassel
• Make Profiling more specific

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Can Information Technology Do More
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Improve Security

• Better Individual Identification
• Better Event Identification and Interruption
• Less hassel for bystanders

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Improve Convenience

• Opt Easily when benefit obvious
• Relevant info available on Client Request

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What do we need?
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Improvement in ethics training

• What's OK and what's not OK
• How do we add ot the list of OK and Not OK
• When do decisions need exposure?

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Better Implementations

• Trusted Info Avail when we want it
• Ability to Turn info on and off
• Accountability for Errors

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Information Privacy Issues in the Information Age