Researchers analyze social media data to gain useful insights into modern society and culture. But it’s important to protect users’ privacy. How can both ends meet?
CCTV cameras are becoming a “normal” feature of public life, tracking peoples’ movements as a matter of course.
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By choosing to deal with companies with better data protection policies, Australian consumers can create pressure for change in how personal data is handled across the board.
The way charities use and hold data on behalf of their clients and donors creates problems under GDPR.
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Michael Wade, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
Organisations are on the losing side, especially those that rely on leveraging personal data to compete. But there will be a net benefit to consumers – and that’s a good thing.
Close your eyes and count to 10: GDPR is coming.
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We need to stop blaming consumers for not reading online privacy policies and fix the system.
The challenge for legislators, courts and the wider community is to ensure any interference with privacy is minimal, rather than merely lawful.
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Australian businesses will not be forced to comply with or fall foul of the new data regulation merely because they maintain websites accessible in the EU.
The science of DNA facial reconstruction is advancing rapidly.
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Our ability to reconstruct physical features from DNA is advancing, but can we ensure the privacy of “anonymised” genetic data if we can predict the face of its owner?
Advances in machine learning may allow data that is de-identified now to be re-dentified in the future.
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Words matter – not just for building trust and understanding, but for weighing up legal issues. So maybe “open” and “shared” aren’t the right words to use when we refer to our data.
What secrets will your DNA give away?
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When you send off a cheek swab to one of the private genome companies, you may sacrifice not just your own privacy but that of your family and your ancestors.
Conversations on Facebook ethics are part of a bigger conversation about information architecture.
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Gordon Hull, University of North Carolina – Charlotte
An expert explains how Facebook’s privacy issues are linked to a bigger problem – a ‘hostile information architecture,’ largely controlled by corporate interests.
Two views of the internet collide in the net neutrality debate.
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The internet developed as a place for open collaboration; there are technical limits on its transformation into a commercial marketplace.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a hearing on Facebook: Transparency and Use of Consumer Data on Capitol Hill in April 2018.
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Facebook grapples with balancing the privacy needs of users with needs of the research community.
A cell phone user thumbs through the privacy settings on a Facebook account in Ottawa in March 2018. Canadians need to start making companies accountable for mining and using their personal data without their consent.
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Canadians — and consumers around the world — have the power to hold industries accountable for misuse or unauthorized use of our data. It’s time to use it.
In a major blow to Facebook, a judge has ruled that a class action can proceed. If similar actions are brought around the world, Facebook could face billions of dollars in damages.
A lack of transparency by Facebook Canada officials about how the Facebook News Feed works means upcoming elections in Canada could be influenced by fake news.
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What kind of information do Canadian voters get through Facebook? It’s time for the social media giant to let researchers see exactly what it sends its 23 million users in Canada.