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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
2013 CEWIT Conference
October 22, 2013
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
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
U.S. Primarily Self-
Regulatory 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
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”
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 [email protected]
Challenges of
Privacy Policies
• Accuracy
• Revisions
• Method of delivery
– Form factor
– Transaction process
– Multiple parties involved
• Newer technologies raise problems with privacy
policy methodology
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
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
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
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
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 [email protected]
QUESTIONS?
Jonathan I. Ezor
Touro Law Center for Innovation in Business, Law
and Technology
@ProfJonathan on Twitter