For many of us, reading the privacy policies of our favourite websites isn’t exactly a thrilling prospect. It’s a bit like getting in the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. Sure, it’s one of the keys to strong muscles, mental sharpness and avoiding scurvy, but it’s not always enjoyable.
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Over the past week, there has been considerable debate among privacy advocates about the comments made by a senior U.S. security official at a conference in October. A portion of his speech is copied below:
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As part of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s outreach effort, we are exploring other vehicles for communicating important privacy issues. We have already begun this blog, are experimenting with videos on YouTube and Google Video, and now have finished a Flash presentation.
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Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke on the subject of liberty – a wide ranging speech that touched on British constitutional history as well as modern concepts of liberty, privacy and access to information.
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On the second day of our conference, Professor Valerie Steeves spoke about how children interact with popular sites like Webkinz, Neopets and Barbie Girls. We have already provided a brief summary of her presentation and her fellow speakers on the subject, but thought you would like to see her speech. The presentation deck she used for her speech, and to which she refers, is also available online.
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Chatting, texting, blogging and spending time on sites like Facebook and Myspace are part of everyday life for millions of students.
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We heard from Peter Fleischer, the Chief Privacy Officer for search company Google, on Friday.
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Stepping away from the privacy advocate’s point of view, I point you to a blog post by Patricia Seybold. She discusses, at length, how Google and other search engines are dealing with questions about privacy and data retention. Importantly, she provides us all with a clear explanation of what data she expects to be retained from her online activities, and what she expects can be done with that data:
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As we mentioned earlier this week, Professor Michael Geist spoke at the closing session of the Conference. He noted that we already live in a world where surveillance is common place, and our personal data trail crosses borders and oceans and lives in countless databases.
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You know, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner doesn’t want to appear technophobic. We appreciate the benefits of new technology and the ease in communication that social networks like MySpace and Facebook can bring to society.
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