Organisations' approaches to managing user privacy are being increasingly scrutinised by regulators, users and the public at large
No. 30: Bringing you the news that matters in video privacy and security
A note from our Editor
Hi all,
There is a growing appreciation in the market of the wider ethical considerations that need to be taken into account when rolling out CCTV surveillance systems. Online advertising is also back under the spotlight with a potential ban on user tracking for online advertising - organisations' approaches to managing user privacy are being increasingly scrutinised by regulators, users and the public at large.
Facebook has, somewhat ironically, demanded that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) take down and discontinue using their platform to survey users through fake accounts. Even though this method has been claimed to help monitor many online gangs, it does directly go against Facebook's privacy policies. The wider question is around the governance frameworks used by the LAPD to select, interact and monitor individuals and how they manage personal data privacy alongside.
The ICO has been investigating some tech groups - including Apple and Google - to check they are adhering to the UK's new Age Appropriate Design Code; a legislation that ensures privacy and online safety are prioritised for children's online. There are concerns that many online companies do not have strong enough methods for age verification, and are continuing to use digital nudges driven by data-driven actions that can cause serious mental health risks to children.
Now that privacy and security need to be managed in tandem, companies are having to come to terms with a range of complex trade-offs so they can: keep their employees and customers safe, extract valuable business data in real-time from their operations and review the wider ethical implications for how they are selecting and deploying new technologies. Our paper: Building an ethical approach to AI employment, digs into the ethical deployment of AI and the factors that need to be considered.
Emma
News
ICO questions tech companies actions to combat child safety concerns
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been questioning tech groups - among them Apple and Google - on their methods for age verification, in a bid to see the steps that these companies are taking to tackle online harm and child safety. This comes after the recent new UK Age Appropriate Design Code, enforced in September 2021, that requires digital services to prioritise privacy and online safety when it comes to children's digital activity.
Financial Times: Google and Apple among tech groups probed by ICO on endangering children
Lloyd vs. Google: privacy takes a hit
Richard Lloyd's £3bn data privacy class action lawsuit against Google that claimed that it secretly tracked the Safari internet activity of millions of iPhones users - has been blocked by the UK Supreme Court.
The Guardian: Top UK court blocks legal action against Google over internet tracking
IT Pro: UK Supreme Court blocks £3.2 billion class action against Google
Facebook tells LAPD to stop using fake accounts for surveillance
Facebook has told the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to stop setting up and using fake profiles on Facebook for surveillance. Documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests (FOIRs) show that officers have been using, and are permitted to use, the platform for 'online investigative activity'.
BBC News: Facebook tells LA police to stop spying on users with fake accounts
The Guardian: Facebook demands LAPD end social media surveillance and use of fake accounts
Human rights need to be considered when buying CCTV cameras
With an update to the UK Surveillance Camera Code of Practice around the corner, many are calling for the company ethics of the organisations that provide the camera technology to be heavily considered - especially after the foreign affairs committee advised that certain Chinese tech companies should not be permitted in the UK.
BBC News: Councils and police must 'weigh CCTV firms' human rights records'
GoDaddy suffers huge data breach exposing 1.2m customer details
GoDaddy-managed service, Wordpress, was breached - affecting over 1.2million users worldwide. It is said to have exposed email addresses, customer numbers, administrative login credentials, and in some cases SSL private keys.
Tech Crunch: GoDaddy says data breach exposed over a million user accounts
IT Pro: GoDaddy data breach exposes over 1.2 million customer details
AI Snippet of the Week
Will using deepfakes to animate history change how we view it?
Photos of the 1948 Israeli-Arab war were recently brought to life thanks to AI which was incredible as it allowed 21st century viewers to experience history in a completely new light. But with recent studies showing that AI has the capacity to weaken people's judgements and further undermines the element of serendipity, there is the question of whether reanimating the past could alter how we view history, and by extension, ourselves.
Reaction: The slippery slope of using AI and deepfakes to bring history to life
Policy Updates
EU latest to call for a ban on tracking adverts
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has called for EU legislators to begin implementing stricter regulations on targeted advertising in favour of methods that do not track or profile users, in a bid to phase out and completely prohibit tracking advertising in the future.
Tech Crunch: EU’s data protection adviser latest to call for ban on tracking ads
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