Privacy: Accountability and EnforceabilityControl of Personal InformationFair Information Practices PrinciplesFair Information Practice Principles are guiding principles not law.Example: Data ResellersData Resellers (Brokers)Collection LimitationCollection Limitation ProblemData QualityData Quality ProblemPurpose SpecificationPurpose Specification ProblemAccountabilityProblems with Current “Solutions”Limitations of LegislationLimitations of the FTCP3PEnterprise Privacy Authorization Language (EPAL)Example of EPAL RuleCurrent Usage ScenarioIssuesRecommendationThird Party Auditor: Tracing & Auditing DataSuggested ScenarioDetailsLimitationsPrivacy: Accountability and EnforceabilityJamie YooApril 11, 2006CPSC 457: Sensitive Information in a Wired WorldControl of Personal InformationBasic Problem: Data subject lacks control of sensitive information after initial disclosureOrganizations lack control of the information that they manage once they disclose it to third partiesFair Information Practices PrinciplesCollection limitationData qualitySecurity safeguardsOpennessPurpose specificationUse limitationIndividual participationAccountabilityFair Information Practice Principles are guiding principles not law.Problem: Companies will claim to follow fair information practice principles but degree of implementation varies among companies.Example: Data ResellersData Resellers (Brokers)Information Resellers are businesses that collect and aggregate personal information from multiple sources and make it available to their customers.Collection LimitationInformation Resellers Generally Do Not Limit Data Collection to Specific Purposes and Do Not Notify Data SubjectsPrivacy ProblemsCollection Limitation ProblemResellers are limited only by laws that apply to specific kinds of information.Otherwise, resellers aggregate unrestricted amounts of personal information.No provisions are made to notify the data subjects when the reseller obtains personal data.Individuals are not afforded an opportunity to express or withhold their consent because many times resellers do not have a direct relationship with data subjects.Some offer an “opt-out” option but usually under limited circumstances for specific types of data and under specific conditions.Data QualityInformation Resellers Do Not Ensure That Personal Information They Provide is Accurate for Specific Purposes Privacy ProblemsData Quality ProblemNo standard mechanism for verifying the accuracy of the data obtainedSome privacy policies state that resellers expect their data to contain some errorsVarying policies regarding correction of data determined to be inaccurate as obtained by themBecause they are not the original source of the personal information, information resellers generally direct individuals to the original sources to correct any errors. That is, data that may be perfectly adequate for one purpose may not be precise enough or appropriate for another purpose.Purpose SpecificationInformation Resellers’ Specification of the Purpose of Data Collection Consists of Broad Descriptions of Business Categories Privacy ProblemsPurpose Specification ProblemInformation resellers specify purpose in a broad, general way by describing the types of businesses that use their data.They generally do not designate specific intended uses for each of their data collections.Generally, resellers obtain information that has already been collected for a specific purpose and make that information available to their customers, who in turn have a much broader variety of purposes for using it.AccountabilityOften times, data subjects do not even know that data resellers are selling their personal information, so accountability from an individual data subject’s standpoint is less than ideal.Privacy ProblemsProblems withCurrent “Solutions”Limitations of LegislationEither too broad or too specificSlow to changeDifficulty to enforceEspecially across bordersLimitations of the FTCThe Commission prosecutes “unfair and deceptive practices” violations.However, usually “letters from consumers or businesses, Congressional inquiries, or articles on consumer or economic subjects” triggers an FTC investigation.Unfortunately, data subjects are often not even aware of privacy violations, especially since they are not usually aware of specific instances of data disclosures by authorized data recipients to third partiesP3PP3P is a semi-structured privacy policy specification language that allows an organization to specify its website privacy practices in a machine-readable format. A P3P policy expresses the privacy practices related to the particular page or pages it governs; it covers any information collection on those pages, the purposes of that collection, the information recipient, and the length of that information’s retention.Specifications are checked by a browser/user agent, against user-specified preferences, to determine whether the organization follows user-acceptable privacy practices. User’s agent allows the load of a page, prevents the load, or notifies the user that the site does not (or may not) comply with the user’s preset preferences. Limitations: After initial disclosure of personal information, user has no mechanism for enforcement.Enterprise Privacy Authorization Language (EPAL)Interoperability language for exchanging privacy policy in a structured format between applications/enterprisesAccess-centricBased on “strong associations” of fine-grained privacy policies (“sticky policies”)EPAL Policy: Defines lists of hierarchies ofData categoriesUser categoriesPurposesActionsObligationsConditionsPrivacy Policy (informal):Allow a sales agent or a sales supervisor to collect a customer's data for order entry if the customer is older than 13 years of age and the customer has been notified of the privacy policy. Delete the data 3 years from now.EPAL Privacy Rule:ruling allowuser category sales departmentaction storedata category customer-recordpurpose order-processingconditionthe customer is older than 13 years of ageobligation delete the data 3 years from nowExample of EPAL RuleService Provider ConsumerReveals PersonalInformationAccepts or RejectsConsumer bases her decision on announced P3P policy, which is not formally related to operative EPAL policy.P3P