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Databases and Information Privacy |
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Databases
When a person has an interest in controlling or manipulating data itself, this is referred to as "information policy." The term "data privacy" is similar. "The term 'data' refers to inert symbols, signs or measures, whereas 'information' implies the use of data by humans to extract meaning. Hence 'information privacy' is arguably the more descriptive of the two alternatives" (R. Clarke).
Growth in this realm is directly linked to the rapid progression of
computer use and the correlating ability to process data about people.
The mounting public concern about information privacy should therefore
be seen as a reaction to the ways in which information technology is
used by organisations, rather than to information technology itself.
Data Surveillance (or Dataveillance) is the use of personal data
systems in the investigation or monitoring of the actions or
communications of other individuals.
Because dataveillance can be automated, it is significantly less
expensive than physical and electronic surveillance. The economic
constraints on surveillance are diminished because of this, so more
people are capable of being monitored.
As R. Clarke points out, "dataveillance comprises a wide range of techniques. These include:
- Front-end Verification: This is the cross-checking of data in an
application form, against data from other personal data systems, in
order to facilitate the processing of a transaction.
- Computer Matching: This is the expropriation of data maintained by
two or more personal data systems, in order to merge previously
separate data about large numbers of individuals.
- Profiling: This is a technique whereby a set of characteristics of a
particular class of person is inferred from past experience, and
data-holdings are then searched for individuals with a close fit to
that set of characteristics."
Source: http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/Intro.html#Priv
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