What does the future look like for UK-EU data movement?

Has the data drilling just begun? Should privacy policies be optional? How can data be stored on magnets the size of a single atom?

Nick Halstead
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

All included in this week’s curated data digest below. 👇


What does the future look like for UK-EU data movement?

According to a published by the government, the UK will seek “new arrangements” “in order to allow for the continued free flow of personal data”.

However, this may be scuppered by the , which has previously been dubbed a “security nightmare” by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and is not mentioned in the paper. In addition, the UK will be leaving the EU-US Privacy Shield — potentially meaning that data could “be transferred to the US without EU-worthy oversights”.

Furthering the announcement of the and discussion around the proposal to criminalise data re-identification, that the actual criminal act should be the releasing of badly anonymised data. In order to keep strengthening systems, it is VITAL that researchers are given a white hat exception:

The protection of whistleblowers should go further and the government should implement a notification system to the ICO so that researchers can easily receive advance clearance for re-identification projects and be shielded from the risk of prosecution.

Highly recommend reading the full article (shorter version in ).


Has the data drilling just begun?

Ben Tarnoff why the true advantages of data are almost-exclusively held by the tech giants:

Silicon Valley is an extractive industry. Its resource isn’t oil or copper, but data. Companies harvest this data by observing as much of our online activity as they can. This activity might take the form of a Facebook like, a Google search, or even how long your mouse hovers in a particular part of your screen.

Alone, these traces may not be particularly meaningful. By pairing them with those of millions of others, however, companies can discover patterns that help determine what kind of person you are — and what kind of things you might buy.

Tarnoff continues with discussing how the giants are now racing to capture our offline movements (for example, Amazon’s “smart” ) to gain further knowledge about our lives. He argues that the only “solution” to levelling the playing field is “political” and that data should be “governed in everyone’s interest”.

KEY TAKEAWAY: Tarnoff points out that the benefits for citizens of data being holistically analysed are clear, but a new system is needed:

Data is a common good. We make it together, and we make it meaningful together, since useful patterns only emerge from collecting and analyzing large quantities of it.


Should privacy policies be optional?

Sonos updated their privacy policy which users will “not be given an option to opt out of”. A spokesperson, unless a customer agrees to the updated policy, they “will not be able to update the software on their Sonos system, and over time the functionality of the product will decrease”. Agree or cease to function?

Security researcher Will Strafach that the iOS AccuWeather app has been sharing personal information, such as precise location data, with data monetisation firm . This enables Reveal to gain exact insights on :

When the location is enabled, it sends the down-to-the-meter precise coordinates of the user, including speed and altitude, back to the data firm.

Final note — you have the right to be .


Miscellaneous

How to the size of a single atom. 🔮

Why it’s time . 💡

How Google is preparing for . 🛡

was compromised weeks before its ICO — . 💸

’s data was . 🙈

A in R, by Marco Michelangeli ✅ (image above).


Enjoy reading this? Join my free . 💌

DataScan

Weekly digest on the world of data science, privacy and security — curated by Nick Halstead.

)

Nick Halstead

Written by

Founder of InfoSum and DataSift

DataScan

DataScan

Weekly digest on the world of data science, privacy and security — curated by Nick Halstead.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade