Thursday, July 26, 2012
The Danger of Big Data: Social Media as Computational Social Science
From the abstract: "Social networking Web sites are amassing vast quantities of data and computational social science is providing tools to process this data. The combination of these two factors has significant implications for individuals and society. With announcements of growing data aggregation by both Google and Facebook, the need for consideration of these issues is becoming urgent. Just as Web 2.0 platforms put publishing in the hands of the masses, without adequate safeguards, computational social science may make surveillance, profiling, and targeting overly accessible.
The academic study of computational social science explains the field as an interdisciplinary investigation of the social dynamics of society with the aid of advanced computational systems. Such investigation can operate at the macro level of global attitudes and trends, down to the personal level of an individual’s psychology. This paper uses the lenses of computation social science to consider the uses and dangers that may result from the data aggregation social media companies are perusing. We also consider the role ethics and regulation may play in protecting the public." Read more
What Happens to My Data? A Novel Approach to Informing Users of Data Processing Practices
van den Berg, Bibi and Simone van der Hof. "What Happens to My Data? A Novel Approach to Informing Users of Data Processing Practices." First Monday, July 2, 2012.
From the abstract: "Citizens increasingly use the Internet to buy products or engage in interactions with others, both individuals and businesses. In doing so they invariably share (personal) data. While extensive data protection legislation exists in many countries around the world, citizens are not always aware (enough) of their rights and obligations with respect to sharing (personal) data. To remedy this gap, users ought to become better informed of companies’ data processing practices. In the past, various research groups have attempted to create tools to this end, for example through the use of icons or labels similar to those used in nutrition. However, none of these tools have gained extensive adoption, mostly because it turns out that capturing privacy legislation in simple, accessible graphics is a complicated task. Moreover, we believe that the tools that were developed so far do not align closely enough with the preferences and understanding of ordinary users, precisely because they are too ‘legalistic’.
In this paper we discuss a user study conducted to gain a better understanding of the kinds of information users would wish to receive with respect to companies’ data processing practices, and the form this information ought to take. On the basis of this user study we found a new approach to communicating this information, in which we return to the OECD’s Fair Information Principles, which formed the basis for (almost all) data protection legislation. We end the paper with a rudimentary proposal for an end user tool to be used on companies’ Web sites." Read more
From the abstract: "Citizens increasingly use the Internet to buy products or engage in interactions with others, both individuals and businesses. In doing so they invariably share (personal) data. While extensive data protection legislation exists in many countries around the world, citizens are not always aware (enough) of their rights and obligations with respect to sharing (personal) data. To remedy this gap, users ought to become better informed of companies’ data processing practices. In the past, various research groups have attempted to create tools to this end, for example through the use of icons or labels similar to those used in nutrition. However, none of these tools have gained extensive adoption, mostly because it turns out that capturing privacy legislation in simple, accessible graphics is a complicated task. Moreover, we believe that the tools that were developed so far do not align closely enough with the preferences and understanding of ordinary users, precisely because they are too ‘legalistic’.
In this paper we discuss a user study conducted to gain a better understanding of the kinds of information users would wish to receive with respect to companies’ data processing practices, and the form this information ought to take. On the basis of this user study we found a new approach to communicating this information, in which we return to the OECD’s Fair Information Principles, which formed the basis for (almost all) data protection legislation. We end the paper with a rudimentary proposal for an end user tool to be used on companies’ Web sites." Read more
Millions of Americans Now Fall Within Government's Digital Dragnet
From the blog: "Will government surveillance finally become a political issue for
middle-class Americans?
Until recently, average Americans could convince themselves they were safe
from government snooping. Yes, the government engaged in warrantless wiretaps,
but those were directed at terrorists. Yes, movies and TV shows featured
impressive technology, with someone’s location highlighted in real time on a
computer screen, but such capabilities were used only to track drug dealers and
kidnappers.
Figures released earlier this month
should dispel that complacency. It’s now clear that government surveillance is
so widespread that the chances of the average, innocent person being swept up
in an electronic dragnet are much higher than previously appreciated. The
revelation should lead to long overdue legal reforms." Read more
See also
Letters to Mobile Carriers Regarding Use of Cell Phone Tracking by Law Enforcement, Congress Ed Markey website.
US Groups: Foreign Cloud Providers Marketing Against Privacy Concerns
Gross, Grant. "US Groups: Foreign Cloud Providers Marketing Against Privacy Concerns." PCWorld, July 25, 2012.
From the article: "Cloud computing services from outside the U.S. are trying to exploit perceived weaknesses in privacy laws to drive business away from U.S. providers, according to some representatives of the tech industry.
Deutsche Telekom and other companies are marketing their cloud products as more private than those from U.S. vendors because of the Patriot Act and other laws, representatives of the Business Software Alliance and Rackspace told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee during a hearing Wednesday,,, Witnesses from the U.S. tech industry and some lawmakers complained that some of the privacy problems are more perceived than actual, but some also called for Congress to change U.S. privacy laws to better protect data stored in the cloud." Read more
Connected Cars Open Up to Apps and the Cloud
Stewart, Jon. "Connected Cars Open Up to Apps and the Cloud." BBC, July 20, 2012.
From the blog: "In the same way as the smartphone was changed forever by the arrival of the app, car manufacturers are now betting on these small pieces of software to drive the future of the automobile. Soon, customising your wheels could be as simple as tapping your dashboard touchscreen to download the latest must-have app…. Several manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and most recently Honda already offer basic connected car systems that allow a vehicle to hook up to the web through mobile phone networks. They act as a portal to the net, but also provide practical benefits such as alerting the driver to collisions, or delays on the road ahead, and automatically finding new routes to avoid them." Read more
From the blog: "In the same way as the smartphone was changed forever by the arrival of the app, car manufacturers are now betting on these small pieces of software to drive the future of the automobile. Soon, customising your wheels could be as simple as tapping your dashboard touchscreen to download the latest must-have app…. Several manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and most recently Honda already offer basic connected car systems that allow a vehicle to hook up to the web through mobile phone networks. They act as a portal to the net, but also provide practical benefits such as alerting the driver to collisions, or delays on the road ahead, and automatically finding new routes to avoid them." Read more
Out of Shape
From the article: "SNOOPING, like so many things in life, is going mobile and
online…..This is happening partly because technology makes snooping easier, and
partly because the law has not caught up with the technology. In the offline
world, governments generally need a judge to sign a warrant to put a wire-tap
in place; the same goes for a physical search of property. In the online world,
most data—concerning who called or e-mailed whom, or visited what website,
though not the content of a communication—is handed over without any such
judicial review.
…A good general principle would be to afford data stored in
a private e-mail account as much protection as letters stored in a locked desk
drawer—that is, law-enforcement agencies wanting to get a look at them should
need a warrant. Internet and mobile-phone companies, and the agencies that get data
from them, must be subject to proper reporting requirements." Read more
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
EHNAC Demands More Specificity for NwHIN Governance
Walsh, Beth. "EHNAC Demands More Specificity for NwHIN Governance." CMIO, July 24, 2012.
From the article: "The Electronic Healthcare Network
Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a nonprofit standards development
organization and accrediting body, has submitted detailed comments on the
request for information on governance of the Nationwide Health Information
Network (NwHIN).
EHNAC’s primary concerns are that the proposal included in the request for information (RFI) does not contain enough specificity to be carried out effectively or “aggressively advance the progress needed,” and that the “validation” mechanism as proposed may actually impede the adoption of implementation of NwHIN." Read more
EHNAC’s primary concerns are that the proposal included in the request for information (RFI) does not contain enough specificity to be carried out effectively or “aggressively advance the progress needed,” and that the “validation” mechanism as proposed may actually impede the adoption of implementation of NwHIN." Read more
See also
Doctor's Company Reimagines Health Care Delivery
But Dr. Jay Parkinson is trying to change that with his business, Sherpaa. Parkinson is convinced that using 21st century technology will revolutionize and streamline the way consumers seek medical help….Sherpaa doesn't replace health insurance, but instead works to weed out inefficiencies, while offering a kind of everyman's concierge service. Companies like Tumblr pay about $1,000 a year per employee." Read more