Search: The tug of war between value for users and the need for privacy Per Koch, Pandia, Oslo, Norway IPTS Workshop: Socio-Economic Challenges of Search Seville Sept 29-30 2008 www.pandia.com

Per Koch, Pandia, Oslo, Norway

IPTS Workshop: Socio-Economic Challenges of Search

Seville Sept 29-30 2008

www.pandia.com

User data is very useful Data delivered by the individual searcher and user can be used to: Improve the relevance of search results (personalization) Improve the targeting of ads (revenue) Identify phishers and malware distributors

Data delivered by the individual searcher and user can be used to:

Improve the relevance of search results (personalization)

Improve the targeting of ads (revenue)

Identify phishers and malware distributors

Search is just a part of a bigger picture Tremendous increase in storage capabilities and processing power Free storage in the cloud Software as a Service New technologies that lets search engines and users combine data Search SaaS (including online email) Social Web Mash-ups

Tremendous increase in storage capabilities and processing power

Free storage in the cloud

Software as a Service

New technologies that lets search engines and users combine data

Search

SaaS (including online email)

Social Web

Mash-ups

More material is becoming available Content production in the Social Web Historical Archives e.g the WayBack Machine and cached files Scanned material e.g. Google Books and Google Scholar The Hidden Web e.g. search engines filling out search forms

Content production in the Social Web

Historical Archives

e.g the WayBack Machine and cached files

Scanned material

e.g. Google Books and Google Scholar

The Hidden Web

e.g. search engines filling out search forms

Making more material findable Face and object recognition (images and video) Audio content analysis Geo-tagging and GPS Amalgamation of personal information from various social sites (e.g. Spokeo) (Less likely: Semantic Web)

Face and object recognition (images and video)

Audio content analysis

Geo-tagging and GPS

Amalgamation of personal information from various social sites (e.g. Spokeo)

(Less likely: Semantic Web)

Approaching critical mass Basic principle in espionage: Even unclassified information is useful information, if you combine it in an intelligent way. Easy combination of data sources makes data mining and personal profiling easy.

Basic principle in espionage: Even unclassified information is useful information, if you combine it in an intelligent way.

Easy combination of data sources makes data mining and personal profiling easy.

“ Let’s google him!” Lawyers Private investigators Insurance companies Employers Police Foreign intelligence Phishers and crackers Sexual predators Burglars and identity thieves Friends and family

Lawyers

Private investigators

Insurance companies

Employers

Police

Foreign intelligence

Phishers and crackers

Sexual predators

Burglars and identity thieves

Friends and family

Lack of data awareness People are too liberal in publishing information about themselves on social networks, not thinking about who might take advantage of it. More public information published in the name of transparency. Enormous amounts of geo-tagged images, satellite photos and video combined with face recognition will make it possible to track the whereabouts of individuals. Google Maps street view of Seville, Spain

People are too liberal in publishing information about themselves on social networks, not thinking about who might take advantage of it.

More public information published in the name of transparency.

Enormous amounts of geo-tagged images, satellite photos and video combined with face recognition will make it possible to track the whereabouts of individuals.

Questioning the safety of data storage Search company secutiry failure AOL posting search logs 2006 Possible cracker attacks against online search data and file storage The Sarah Palin Yahoo! email hack 2008 Public authorities demanding access post 9/11 EU Article 29 Data Protection Working Party

Search company secutiry failure

AOL posting search logs 2006

Possible cracker attacks against online search data and file storage

The Sarah Palin Yahoo! email hack 2008

Public authorities demanding access post 9/11

EU Article 29 Data Protection Working Party

Building trust A public relation backlash may stifle innovation Search engine must make privacy policies transparent and visible Search engine must help searchers opt out of data gathering Secret surfing, deleting cookies, deleting IP info etc. Search engines should implement further anonymisation to avoid personal identification

A public relation backlash may stifle innovation

Search engine must make privacy policies transparent and visible

Search engine must help searchers opt out of data gathering

Secret surfing, deleting cookies, deleting IP info etc.

Search engines should implement further anonymisation to avoid personal identification

We need more than legal jargon Displaying the privacy policy and asking for consent is not enough People do not understand the implications of the technology available People automatically click OK on any legal yadayada they may encounter The search engines should be proactive as regards info on proper “Web Hygiene”

Displaying the privacy policy and asking for consent is not enough

People do not understand the implications of the technology available

People automatically click OK on any legal yadayada they may encounter

The search engines should be proactive as regards info on proper “Web Hygiene”

Need for an independent international organisation? An international organisation setting standards and evaluating company policies and practices UN? OECD? NGO? The search companies? The EU? US organisations Center for Democracy and Technology www.cdt.org (supported by the search engine companies) Center for Digital Democracy www.democraticmedia.org (critical of CDT) An international search privacy certificate An international office for public information and education

An international organisation setting standards and evaluating company policies and practices

UN? OECD? NGO? The search companies? The EU?

US organisations

Center for Democracy and Technology www.cdt.org (supported by the search engine companies)

Center for Digital Democracy www.democraticmedia.org (critical of CDT)

An international search privacy certificate

An international office for public information and education

Pandia Search Central pandia.com koch@pandia.com

Pandia Search Central pandia.com koch@pandia.com