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What is the correct way to regulate this? The problem is that, from small business to mammoth company, there is no codified, unified, agreed upon manifesto whe

What is the correct way to regulate this? The problem is that, from small business to mammoth company, there is no codified, unified, agreed upon manifesto when it comes to handling data at any level. A "Constitution" of sorts that explains the rights and / or wrongs of the data usage of the average user. Somewhere where a user can look at a document, see which company falls where on the spectrum, decide if they are comfortable with the sharing of that, and actively signs off on it. As an addendum, it's also important to think, while my for example, email data might be shared, it will enable certain benefits that I sign off on like Google providing me flight details, etc., but it comes at what expense. You'd get a wide spectrum of those who couldn't care less to those who are tin-foiled, but no matter where you fall on this spectrum, you'd at least know which software does what. If that manifesto-like document is broken, consequences would be maintained.

Vinnl 8y ago
I think there's a lot to say for the EU's approach: the societal benefits of location-based tracking (more targeted and hence relevant advertising, for example, or apps that are free to use) is not considered to outweigh the societal downsides (e.g. undermining democracy), so it's simply not allowed at all unless the user explicitly and unambiguously agrees with their data being used for that purpose.
makecheck 8y ago
The way to do it is to push for new data formats where the inherent value of even “leaked” information is going to be limited by the format (e.g. expires in some form, and/or must always be combined with some new recently-refreshes data to be considered valid). Unfortunately, something of that magnitude in this age would probably require the cooperation of large entities like Google and Facebook. Guess who profits from the current leaky model. Honestly, Apple may be just about the only one capable of shifting the tide. They’re big, they claim a privacy focus, and they’ve delivered some (e.g. Apple Pay, iMessage). If they could come up with more secure technological replacements for the things that are currently leaked by apps, we might have a chance. The “one time card” approach of Apple Pay seems like the basis for such a system. For example: stop giving apps “my location” tied specifically to me, instead give them “location of unspecified user” where that token goes away after one app transaction.
- Despegar 8y ago
  Apple in some ways is like a quasi data privacy regulator because they have control of the App Store. They can use App Store policy to forbid these third party frameworks being included in apps. But that's not a scalable solution. Privacy legislation is required to raise the bar for everyone. Apple's not going to be able to sue or fine companies nor can they police companies about how they use data they've managed to collect.

Vinnl 8y ago

I think there's a lot to say for the EU's approach: the societal benefits of location-based tracking (more targeted and hence relevant advertising, for example, or apps that are free to use) is not considered to outweigh the societal downsides (e.g. undermining democracy), so it's simply not allowed at all unless the user explicitly and unambiguously agrees with their data being used for that purpose.

makecheck 8y ago

The way to do it is to push for new data formats where the inherent value of even “leaked” information is going to be limited by the format (e.g. expires in some form, and/or must always be combined with some new recently-refreshes data to be considered valid). Unfortunately, something of that magnitude in this age would probably require the cooperation of large entities like Google and Facebook. Guess who profits from the current leaky model. Honestly, Apple may be just about the only one capable of shifting the tide. They’re big, they claim a privacy focus, and they’ve delivered some (e.g. Apple Pay, iMessage). If they could come up with more secure technological replacements for the things that are currently leaked by apps, we might have a chance. The “one time card” approach of Apple Pay seems like the basis for such a system. For example: stop giving apps “my location” tied specifically to me, instead give them “location of unspecified user” where that token goes away after one app transaction.

Despegar 8y ago
Apple in some ways is like a quasi data privacy regulator because they have control of the App Store. They can use App Store policy to forbid these third party frameworks being included in apps. But that's not a scalable solution. Privacy legislation is required to raise the bar for everyone. Apple's not going to be able to sue or fine companies nor can they police companies about how they use data they've managed to collect.