The Application of the Right to be Forgotten in the Machine Learning Context: From the Perspective of European Laws

The right to be forgotten has been evolving for decades along with the progress of different statutes and cases and, finally, independently enacted by the General Data Protection Regulation, making it widely applied across Europe. However, the related provisions in the regulation fail to enable machine learning systems to realistically forget the personal information which is stored and processed therein. This failure is not only because existing European rules do not stipulate standard codes of conduct and corresponding responsibilities for the parties involved, but they also cannot accommodate themselves to the new environment of machine learning, where specific information can hardly be removed from the entire cyberspace. There is also evidence in the technical, legal, and social spheres to elaborate on the mismatch between the rules of the right to be forgotten and the novel machinery background based on the above reasons. To mitigate these issues, this article will draw lessons from the cyberspace regulation theories and expound on their insights into realizing the right and the strategies they offered to reframe a new legal scheme of the right. This innovative framework entails a combination of technological, legal, and possibly social measures taken by online intermediaries which make critical decisions on the personal data given the so-called stewardship responsibilities. Therefore, the application of the right to be forgotten in the machinery landscape will plausibly be more effective

Privacy, Space and Time: a Survey on Privacy-Preserving Continuous Data Publishing

Sensors, portable devices, and location-based services, generate massive amounts of geo-tagged, and/or location- and user-related data on a daily basis. The manipulation of such data is useful in numerous application domains, e.g., healthcare, intelligent buildings, and traffic monitoring, to name a few. A high percentage of these data carry information of users\u27 activities and other personal details, and thus their manipulation and sharing arise concerns about the privacy of the individuals involved. To enable the secure—from the users\u27 privacy perspective—data sharing, researchers have already proposed various seminal techniques for the protection of users\u27 privacy. However, the continuous fashion in which data are generated nowadays, and the high availability of external sources of information, pose more threats and add extra challenges to the problem. In this survey, we visit the works done on data privacy for continuous data publishing, and report on the proposed solutions, with a special focus on solutions concerning location or geo-referenced data

The Contemporary Face of Transnational Criminal Organizations and the Threat they Pose to U.S. National Interest: A Global Perspective.

Traditional organized crime groups have consistently posed issues for la w enforcement; however, the contemporary TCOs present an even greater security risk and threat. TCOs thrive in countries with a weak rule of law and present a great threat to regional security in many parts of the world. Bribery and corruption employed by these groups further serve to destabilize already weak governments. These TCOs also present a major threat to U.S. and world financial systems by exploiting legitimate commerce, and in some cases creating parallel markets (“Transnational Organized,” 2011) . Finally, one of the most significant threats posed by contemporary TCOs is their alliances and willingness to work with terrorist and extremist organizations. This paper will focus on contemporary TCOs by giving a brief overview of the most common criminal enterprises associated with these groups, the nexus between various TCOs, the nexus between TCOs and terrorist and extremist groups, case studies highlighting the nexus, and the threats they pose to U.S. national interests

Documenting and Digitizing with Dignity: Ethical Considerations and the West African Frontier Force Personnel Records

This article explores considerations arising from the digitization of the personnel records from the West African Frontier Force held at the Sierra Leone Public Archives. These records reflect a knowable and living past and contain sensitive and confidential information including medical and personal details not normally disclosed to the public. Best practice and ethics must be taken into account to protect the privacy of these subjects, but this approach applies beyond these records to all those concerning the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Digital best practice emphasizes the human dignity of what might otherwise be regarded as data alone. We begin by exploring the archive itself as an abstract and then a physical concept, as in many cases archives are the homes of documents which are vital to our research, but these documents may be in precarious condition. By reflecting on the archive as an object, our concern for best practice extends to respecting both the provenance of the primary sources and the people who preserve them. The second topic we explore is a methodological and ethical one: the organization, anonymization, and standardization of data and metadata. This portion of our article is intended to serve as a guide for other, similar research projects, offering a method of efficiently organizing complex systems of documents, particularly those where the original file structure should be maintained as closely as possible to preserve meaning. We finally consider the challenge of placing soldiers’ origins onto a mapped topography, which leads us to analyze the considerable issues around colonial mapping as a whole, and to develop a way of navigating this hurdle. Our article illuminates various challenges as we digitize and trace individual lives within complex archival data. In each case we have described the challenge we found, analyzed it, and developed ways of addressing or solving problems which we believe will stand as best practice when applied beyond our project.Cet article examine certaines des conséquences de la numérisation des dossiers du personnel de la West African Frontier Force conservés dans les archives publiques de la Sierre Leone. Ces dossiers rendent possible l’accès à une image d’un passé encore vif, puisqu’ils contiennent des informations délicates et confidentielles, telles que des détails médicaux et personnels, qui ne sont pas normalement révélés au public. Il faut tenir compte des bonnes pratiques et de l’éthique pour protéger la vie privée des sujets, et cela doit s’appliquer à toutes les archives liées à la traite des esclaves transatlantique. Les bonnes pratiques numériques valorisent la dignité humaine des personnes qui risqueraient autrement d’être traitées comme des données. Dans cet article, nous commençons d’abord à explorer l’archive sous ses aspects fragmentaires ainsi que physiques : dans certains cas, les archives abritent des documents essentiels à nos recherches, mais cela dans des conditions très précaires. Nos réflexions sur la matérialité de l’archive nous ont menés à de bonnes pratiques qui respectent aussi bien la provenance des sources primaires que les personnes qui les conservent. Nous passons ensuite à des considérations méthodologiques et éthiques : comment organiser, anonymiser et standardiser les données et les métadonnées. Nous espérons que cette section servira de guide à d’autres projets de recherche semblables en proposant une méthode efficace pour organiser des systèmes complexes de documents, surtout pour ceux où il faudrait respecter le plus possible la structure d’origine des fichiers pour en respecter la signification. Enfin, nous abordons les problèmes que pose la localisation des origines des soldats sur les cartes topographiques ; cela nous a amenés à analyser les divers problèmes de la cartographie coloniale dans sa globalité, et ainsi à trouver des solutions adéquates. Notre article éclaire les défis de la recherche et de la numérisation de vies individuelles à travers des données d’archives complexes : dans chaque cas, nous avons décrit et analysé les obstacles auxquels nous avons été confrontés et les moyens trouvés pour les affronter ou les résoudre, avec la conviction qu’ils pouvaient constituer de bonnes pratiques qui pouvaient être appliquées à d’autres projets.Este articulo examina algunas consecuencias de la digitalización de los expedientes del personal de la West African Frontier Force conservados en los archivos públicos de Sierra Leone. Estos expedientes ofrecen la imagen de un pasado accesible a nuestro conocimiento y aún vivo, ya que conservan informaciones delicadas y confidenciales, tales como detalles médicos y personales, que no se entregan habitualmente al público. Es necesario tomar en cuenta las buenas prácticas y la ética para proteger la vida privada de los sujetos, y el mismo método puede aplicarse a todos los archivos vinculados con la trata transatlántica de esclavos. Las buenas prácticas en el ámbito de la digitalización enfatizan la dignidad humana de personas que, de otra manera, correrían peligro de ser tratadas como datos. Consideramos, primero, el archivo tanto en sus aspectos abstractos como físicos: en ciertos casos, los archivos conservan documentos esenciales para nuestras investigaciones, pero en condiciones precarias. Nuestras reflexiones sobre la materialidad del archivo nos han llevado a buenas prácticas que respetan tanto el origen de las fuentes primarias como las personas que las conservan. Luego pasamos a consideraciones metodológicas y éticas: cómo organizar, anonimizar y estandarizar los datos y los metadatos, esperando servir de guía a otros proyectos de investigación parecidos, proponiendo una metodología eficaz para organizar sistemas complejos de documentos, sobre todo en los casos en que habría que respetar lo más posible la estructura de origen de los archivos para que no se pierda su significado. Por último, abordamos los problemas que plantea la localización de los orígenes de los soldados en las cartas topográficas, lo que nos ha llevado a analizar los diversos aspectos problemáticos de la cartografía colonial, y a encontrar soluciones adecuadas. Nuestro artículo aclara los desafíos de la investigación y de la digitalización de vidas individuales a través de los datos de archivos complejos: en cada caso, hemos descrito y analizado los obstáculos y encontrado maneras de sortearlos, con la convicción de que nuestras soluciones podrán ser aplicadas en otros proyectos.Este artigo examina algumas consequências da digitalização dos registos do pessoal da West African Frontier Force, guardados nos arquivos públicos da Sierra Leone. Estes registos deixam a imagem de um passado acessível ao nosso conhecimento e ainda vivo, ao conter informações sensíveis e confidenciais, como pormenores médicos e pessoais, que não seriam normalmente revelados ao público. Importa considerar as boas práticas e a ética para proteger a vida privada dos indivíduos, e o mesmo método pode ser aplicado a todos os arquivos ligados ao trato transatlântico de escravos. As boas práticas digitais realçam a dignidade humana das pessoas que de outra maneira riscariam ser tratadas como dados. Consideramos primeiro o arquivo no seu aspecto abstrato mas também físico: em alguns casos, os arquivos conservam documentos essenciais para as nossas pesquisas, mas em condições muito precárias. As nossas reflexões sobre a materialidade do arquivo levaram-nos a considerar boas práticas que respeitam tanto a procedência das fontes primárias quanto as pessoas que as conservam. Passamos a seguir à considerações metodológicas e éticas: como organizar, anonimizar e uniformizar os dados e os metadados, esperando assim guiar outros projetos de investigação similares, ao propor um método eficiente para organizar sistemas complexos de documentos, sobretudo nos casos em que seria necessário respeitar quanto possível a estrutura original dos ficheiros para não perder sua significação. Por fim, abordamos os problemas que coloca a localização das origens dos soldados nos mapas topográficos, o que nos levou a analizar os diferentes aspectos problemáticos da cartografia colonial, e assim encontrar soluções apropriadas. O nosso artigo esclarece os desafios da pesquisa e da digitalização de vidas individuais através de dados de arquivo complexos: em cada caso, descrevemos e analisamos as dificuldades e os meios para contorná-las, com a convicção que estas soluções poderão ser aplicadas em outros projetos

Untangling the Web: A Guide To Internet Research

[Excerpt] Untangling the Web for 2007 is the twelfth edition of a book that started as a small handout. After more than a decade of researching, reading about, using, and trying to understand the Internet, I have come to accept that it is indeed a Sisyphean task. Sometimes I feel that all I can do is to push the rock up to the top of that virtual hill, then stand back and watch as it rolls down again. The Internet—in all its glory of information and misinformation—is for all practical purposes limitless, which of course means we can never know it all, see it all, understand it all, or even imagine all it is and will be. The more we know about the Internet, the more acute is our awareness of what we do not know. The Internet emphasizes the depth of our ignorance because our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite. My hope is that Untangling the Web will add to our knowledge of the Internet and the world while recognizing that the rock will always roll back down the hill at the end of the day

Pay For (Privacy) Performance: Holding Social Network Executives Accountable for Breaches in Data Privacy Protection

Social networking has proliferated over the past years and is now being utilized by a large percentage of the world’s population. Social networks substantially contribute to enhanced speech, creativity, and communication. Yet, their practices of collecting and monetizing personal data of users pose severe privacy risks. Compelling social networks to internalize these risks is crucial for the healthy evolution of social networking. This article proposes a novel approach to address this challenge: to link executive compensation in social networking firms to the quality of data protection the company provides to its users. This proposal is different from other solutions that have been proposed in the context of social media privacy in two significant ways. First, the direct policy object is not the firm itself. Rather, I propose that executive compensation should be keyed to the level of privacy protection the firm provides to its users. Second, the proposal advances a dynamic solution, where privacy practices would adapt to changing privacy expectations. Implementation of my proposal would yield a number of key advantages. First, it would create a powerful incentive for executives of social networks to internalize the harms they cause to users’ privacy. Second, it would provide firsthand and up-to-date information about users’ changing needs and interests. Third, it would align the interests of social media executives with the long-term interests of shareholders to maintain users’ trust in social media, in order for social networks to continue to attract a high volume of users and activity. For reasons I explore herein, shareholders are not likely to achieve this goal themselves. Fourth, it would simplify the privacy enforcement process and reduce its costs. Finally, it would allow social networks to develop and grow, by allowing use of private data, as long as privacy considerations are internalized

Economic essays on privacy, big data, and climate change

This doctoral thesis aims to advance our understanding of major topics of concern in the 21st century using theoretical as well as empirical economic methodologies. All three topics do and will continue to affect people’s lives as they can substantially shape the functioning of our societies. Thematically linked, Chapter 2 and 3 both focus on privacy choices and their consequences in the context of big data algorithms that target individual consumers. In contrast, Chapter 3 and 4 are linked methodologically as both present results from economic laboratory experiments, where the former focuses on cognitive challenges of individual decision-makers and the latter on challenges to coordination and cooperation between decision-makers. Chapter 2 presents results from a theoretical model where consumers face a monopolistic seller who is not only capable of perfect price discrimination but also more strategically sophisticated than the consumers. The model shows that consumers use a costly privacy-protective sales channel even in the absence of an explicit taste for privacy if they are not too strategically sophisticated. Chapter 3 presents results from an economic laboratory experiment related to the model developed before. Finding substantial deviations from Nash equilibrium predictions. Addressing cognitive constraints often present in privacy choices, some evidence for two alternative explanations is found: level-k thinking and reinforcement learning. A policy treatment resembling privacy-by-default mechanisms leads to a strong increase in hiding behavior. Chapter 4 presents results from an economic laboratory experiment of a dynamic resource extraction game that mimics the global multi-generation planning problem for climate change and fossil fuel extraction. The findings from this experiment suggest that successful cooperation does not only need to overcome a gap between individual incentives and public interests. There is also a fundamental heterogeneity between subjects with respect to beliefs and preferences about the way in which this should be achieved

Location Privacy Protection in the Mobile Era and Beyond

As interconnected devices become embedded in every aspect of our lives, they accompany many privacy risks. Location privacy is one notable case, consistently recording an individual’s location might lead to his/her tracking, fingerprinting and profiling. An individual’s location privacy can be compromised when tracked by smartphone apps, in indoor spaces, and/or through Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Recent surveys have indicated that users genuinely value their location privacy and would like to exercise control over who collects and processes their location data. They, however, lack the effective and practical tools to protect their location privacy. An effective location privacy protection mechanism requires real understanding of the underlying threats, and a practical one requires as little changes to the existing ecosystems as possible while ensuring psychological acceptability to the users. This thesis addresses this problem by proposing a suite of effective and practical privacy preserving mechanisms that address different aspects of real-world location privacy threats. First, we present LP-Guardian, a comprehensive framework for location privacy protection for Android smartphone users. LP-Guardian overcomes the shortcomings of existing approaches by addressing the tracking, profiling, and fingerprinting threats posed by different mobile apps while maintaining their functionality. LP-Guardian requires modifying the underlying platform of the mobile operating system, but no changes in either the apps or service provider. We then propose LP-Doctor, a light-weight user-level tool which allows Android users to effectively utilize the OS’s location access controls. As opposed to LP-Guardian, LP-Doctor requires no platform changes. It builds on a two year data collection campaign in which we analyzed the location privacy threats posed by 1160 apps for 100 users. For the case of indoor location tracking, we present PR-LBS (Privacy vs. Reward for Location-Based Service), a system that balances the users’ privacy concerns and the benefits of sharing location data in indoor location tracking environments. PR-LBS fits within the existing indoor localization ecosystem whether it is infrastructure-based or device-based. Finally, we target the privacy threats originating from the IoT devices that employ the emerging Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol through BLE-Guardian. BLE-Guardian is a device agnostic system that prevents user tracking and profiling while securing access to his/her BLE-powered devices. We evaluate BLE-Guardian in real-world scenarios and demonstrate its effectiveness in protecting the user along with its low overhead on the user’s devices.PHDComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138563/1/kmfawaz_1.pd