Government 2.0 Club

Privacy in a Digital Space notes

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by susannecloseAuthor: susanne Name:
Email: wormlady@gmail.com
Site:
About: See Authors Posts (1) in Blog, Government 2.0 Camp Day 1

#gov20camp, government 2.0, #pubpriv

- Introductions

87% of population identifyable by 5-digit zip, gender, date of birth - no name needed!

how do you handle tradeoff btwn asking people to be themselves + potential exposure of putting real name and info online?

- whenever you engage in public debate, your argument rests on your credibility

- as you try to affect larger + larger groups of people, you give up increasing amts of your privacy

extreme poles: secret vote to having everything public, like president

- there is some risk - you give info, and think its so secure… and then there is a breach.  Maybe we just need to give up more - maybe say: there is no expectation of privacy if you use a computer.

- Book: The Transparent Society, by David Brin –> http://www.davidbrin.com/tschp1.html

The question is not: can you maintain your privacy online? Instead: is there relative parity?  Can I find out about you what you can find out abt me?

- When you are engaging in a public space, you can always opt out - you don’t *have* to participate in that public space.  You can create your own website where you *can* have your anonymity.  But, if you are going to be on a govt or govt-run site, then you should know what you can expect.

- how can you have a profile you can use over time, and use to build your credibility, but which doesn’t give your PII?  Consider Open ID as possible solution.

- how can you ID an actual govt person vs. a teenage posing as one?  Example of fire alert - how do you know it’s for real?  A sort of govt Open ID might address this.

- Obama’s call for questions - don’t need actual names/PII just to be able to vote up or down.

- Want to keep folks responsible for what they say, and foster civil conversation

- Can maintain civility even anonymously.  Tradeoff - can keep coming in with different id’s.  Participate, but don’t build up the same kind of cred.

- Can chunk off authentication from privacy?  As private citizens, we have day jobs where we need to log in to secure sites.  Might need to log in from home/non-work computers.  How to best authenticate?

- RE: “fire in Wyoming” alert could be coming from 14-yo kid… was recent case of kid putting on uniform and given police patrol.  Need to know that the people you think you are dealing with ARE the people you think you are dealing with.

- With recent forest fires in CA, citizen postings were actually the best source of info - there’s very distinct role for the public to play here.

- Best solution? - govt provides infrastructure, public then participates

- Let public actually talk online in way that contributes to policy.

- Other people have to see exactly who you are!  Signers of Constitution put everything out there - signed their names to it!  Need privacy and security on internet.  Need good ID management - can’t have one person with a gazillion logins dominating conversation, or even “conversing” with self.  Must be able to realize that these are all from same person.

- Is solution technology or education?

- State of VA wanted to teach school children internet safety.  Surprising # of people against that.

One Laptop per Child project - asked founder what ethics guidelines will come with computers?  He hemmed + hawed… wrong answer!  Must consider these issues.

- Even if people are aware of how to use tech safely, may not need to know how to access the info they need.

- So what about the info the govt collects on you based on your public info?  Is there a way to control what you put out publicly, not just this wk, but forwever.

- Anything govt collects about you, you can FOIA the info about yourself - in fine print of current Privacy Act.  Is that enough that they can get whatever they want about you you, if you can look at it?

- One of the things we should do, in general, is to customize privacy settings.  Like in Facebook - set so no one can tag you in photos, but can see your other items.

- Today, will cost you your job if have compromising FB photo.  In 5 yrs, might not shock anyone.

- Grew up in culture where your privacy was truly your privacy.  Amazing that people will share that much info abt themselves and what they are doing.  Don’t think entire world will shift to having all those details out there.  Big fan of just using need-to-know info.

- Local gov perspective: use of soc med

- If Twittering - should you follow your followers?

- One agency is pumping out tweets, but not following anyone other than other agencies.  Another is following all local followers.

- RE: limiting the info you make available… The ability of Internet to turn people into info hubs gives them power.  The more power you have over public policy + behavior, the more people have a right to know who you are.  It’s a matter of public trust.

- But, don’t want my word to be kept by a machine.  Q of public vs. private space.

- That’s a personal choice of public vs. private with respect to your work.

- Our main customer is age 18-24.  RE: control… 18-yo feel that online is their private domain.  At home, things are public, with no control.

- Common sense will ultimately reign over the technical tools.

- If someone like Congressman Hoekstra can make serious error in judgement re: what to disclose, think about what the rest of us might be prone to!

- Jeff Jonas - lots of dicussions abt privacy.

- Twitter - perception if you have lots of followers, but don’t follow many, you’re important. But, that’s  a mistake.

- When following agency on Twitter feed, appreciate when a real name is attached.  Cotweet using interesting technique: uses ^ + initials of Tweeter.

- RE: authenticity: John Edwards tweeting during debate.

- different levels of authentication: as you move up level of participation, increase auth.

- But, do you have to be yourself in your various types of participation?  For ex, do you have to be same person for Sierra Club? Gun Club?

- I should be able to look @ representives visitor log, and see who is talking to my rep, and where they work.  Good thing about opening up is being able to talk to the rep online.  If you are trying to affect public policy in online space, should be given same amt of attention as someone trying to affect public policy in person.

- There’s a duopoly - trying to track bad guys.  But, if you are just trying to participate in policy, should not have to give same amt of info.  Need to match privacy needs to intent.

- How to we protect our info against people who want to be hostile?

- Do we create false sense of security if don’t put in any barriers?

- At conference session, got msg that someone was following him.  Thought: good.  Then got another msg from another new follower.  Looked @ profile, which set up warning flags.  Didn’t want that 2nd person seeing what he was talking abt!  Blocked him.

Tags: privacy