Link Log: 28/01/08

Semester has started again and I’m trying to recover from three hours of Law on a Monday morning (cruel and unusual punishment, I feel.) which is currently akin to being at work without being paid. Sigh.

I am attempting to lure my brain out from where ever it scuttled off when semester started.

• Why personal data is like nuclear waste Interesting article by Cory Doctorow on personal data and the storage thereof.
• The Concerns of Copyright Reform Michael Geist looks at the privacy implications of copyright reform and digital rights management technologies.
• What Our Top Spy Doesn’t Get: Security and Privacy Aren’t Opposites Bruce Schneier on why security and privacy are not opposite ends of a seesaw. US-centric but still applicable.
• Don’t expect privacy law overhaul in the wake of HMRC Out-law.com opinion piece on the government’s reaction to the recent data losses.
• Out-Law.com’s guide to Data Protection Does what it says on the tin, last updated August 2005 but still a good overview.
• Privacy chief wants new criminal offence Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has asked the Government to create a new offence of recklessly or knowing breaching data protection principles punishable by unlimited fines.

Further Facebook Privacy Problems

Hrrm. Facebook is currently being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office in regards to their data collection policies.

Turns out that even when you delete your profile (and no, I have not deleted mine yet), the data remains on their servers. Apparently, this is to aid you as the user should you ever want to reactivate your account but currently fails the general rule of Data Protection of not keeping information for longer than it is required.

It seems the only way to permanently delete your information is to clear out each individual section yourself before deactivating your account. Which puts the onus on the individual.

As I keep a fairly clean profile, that’s not the worst thing for me but it still rankles. And I’m still not entirely sure if that means that I have to trawl across my friends’ profiles removing any wall posts etc. I may have left on their profiles as well.

Not on, Facebook. Not on.

Facebook: politics and pondering

With Friends Like These…: Interesting article from the Guardian on the politics and philosophy behind Facebook and sufficient to say, the politics certainly do not match my own.

It’s certainly something to consider - I am not entirely happy with my Facebook use. It isn’t really doing a great deal for me but it’s certainly doing something for the people that benefit financially from my use of it. Plus, there isn’t actually anyone on my friends list (which v. small because I…have no interest in getting in contact with the people I barely knew at school.) that I don’t have contact with via other means so deleting my profile would not be the end of my world as I know it.

And I can still play Scrabble elsewhere.

And yes, I am well aware that the same people are behind Paypal but Paypal has an actual use for me and I am very aware of my shortcomings re: strictly following an ideology. Pros and cons are always something I consider and for the moment, I will continue to use Paypal.

Data loss petition

I remain firmly on the fence as to the…clout of the E-Petitions ^[1] towards actually making any change, particularly after receiving several responses to petitions I’ve signed that left me wondering if they were assuming that the average age of the signatory was approximately four years old and incapable of rational thought. But, that said, I also work on the principle that we don’t know if things will work unless we try them. So, with that in mind, here’s an interesting petition to consider and sign.

Petition to require all organisations to notify customers immediately of any personal data loss.

The petition calls on the Prime Minister to place a legal duty on public and private sector organisations, so that affected customers are informed immediately if the security of their personal data has been compromised.

1. Can we please stop adding the prefix “E” to things that are online? What is this? The 1990s?