"Flawed Transparency: Shared Data Collection and Disclosure Challenges for Google Glass and Similar Technologies" presented by Prof. Jonathan I. Ezor of Touro Law Center for Innovation in Business, Law and Technology for the 2013 CEWIT conference in Melville, NY

1. Flawed Transparency:
Shared Data Collection and
Disclosure Challenges for
Google Glass and Similar
Technologies
Jonathan I. Ezor
Assistant Professor & Director,
Touro Law Center for Innovation in Business, Law & Technology
jezor@tourolaw.edu
2013 CEWIT Conference
October 22, 2013

2. Paper Available:
http://ezor.org/cewitpaper
jezor@tourolaw.edu

3. Privacy and
Technology
• Technology frequently connected with privacy
issues
• Construction, finance, transportation
• Brandeis & Warren’s “The Right to Privacy”
• Anonymity & pseudonymity
• Digital storage/transmission a major shift
jezor@tourolaw.edu

4. Privacy Protected by
Law and Practice
• Privacy protected by both law and practice
• Focus primarily on personal information and
behavior monitoring
• Different cultures have different structures
• Technology can both infringe on and protect
privacy
jezor@tourolaw.edu

5. U.S. Primarily SelfRegulatory Regime
• In U.S., no general data privacy laws
• Most situations covered by “self-regulation”
• Only statute/regulation for special circumstances
–
–
–
–
COPPA
HIPAA
GLB
Others
• Self-regulation driven by disclosure
jezor@tourolaw.edu

6. Fair Information
Practice Principles
• Statements of best practices and ideals in data
collection and use
• Multiple versions throughout world
• FTC 1998 version:
–
–
–
–
–
Notice/Awareness
Choice/Consent
Access/Participation
Integrity/Security
Enforcement/Redress
• Standard method is “privacy policy”
jezor@tourolaw.edu

7. Privacy Policy:
Statement of
Practices
• Statement of organization’s actual:
– Collection
– Use
– Sharing
• Should be prominently available
• CA law requires (PA law punishes knowing
inaccuracy)
• Federal law largely about misstatements or
omissions
• Data security practices also considered
jezor@tourolaw.edu

8. Challenges of
Privacy Policies
• Accuracy
• Revisions
• Method of delivery
– Form factor
– Transaction process
– Multiple parties involved
• Newer technologies raise problems with privacy
policy methodology
jezor@tourolaw.edu

9. Google:
Multichannel,
Multiuse
• Google in business of monetizing personal
information collection
• Broad range of businesses within Google sharing
data
• Collection goes far beyond Web sites
• Information collected goes far beyond personally
identifiable information
jezor@tourolaw.edu

10. Google Street View
and WiFi
• Google Street View cars photographing locations
around world
• Also detecting WiFi routers for location services
• Discovered to be intercepting traffic on open
networks
• Facing legal issues in U.S., elsewhere
jezor@tourolaw.edu

11. jezor@tourolaw.edu

12. Google Glass:
Wearable Sensor
Suite
•
•
•
•
•
•
Google Glass new wearable device
Discreet, wireless, and powerful
WiFi-enabled
GPS through paired device
Cameras, microphone
Apps and two-way wireless capabilities
jezor@tourolaw.edu

13. Privacy Concerns
with Glass
• Many concerned about “voyeurism” of Glass
• Broader question of Google collection/use of
information
• Glass’ form factor, ubiquity makes it different
from smartphones
• Little or no information available about Google
collection processes
• Even users cannot offer privacy policies for
Glass
jezor@tourolaw.edu

14. jezor@tourolaw.edu

15. Proposal: FCC
Approval Process
and Privacy
Disclosure
• Wireless devices already need FCC approval
• FCC separately regulates wireless carriers’
privacy practices
• Proposal: add privacy disclosure to FCC device
approval
• Would mandate public availability, accuracy,
updates
• Would provide better redress, easier
implementation
jezor@tourolaw.edu

16. QUESTIONS?
Jonathan I. Ezor
Touro Law Center for Innovation in Business, Law
and Technology
jezor@tourolaw.edu
@ProfJonathan on Twitter
jezor@tourolaw.edu