The history of technology is fascinating. It’s not just finding out more about, say, Alexander Graham Bell and the fact that he probably shouldn’t be remembered as the man who invented the telephone (arguably it was Elisha Grey – see Wikipedia to learn more), but in truth, probably no one person did. Technologies are created by the coming together of a host of innovations, and the point at w... »
The issue of privacy, or more generally and accurately the issue of who owns what data, and the rights and obligations associated with the use of that data have clearly shot up the public agenda. A term that a few years ago would have been associated with what you could and couldn’t do or say in your own home is now the topic of daily discussion in the context of Google, Facebook, the NSA and GCHQ... »
The murmur of debate and discussion concerning the proper use, and increasing abuse, of their citizens’ personal data by governments has risen to a crescendo since the first of Edward Snowden’s revelations about the US’s NSA PRISM and the UK’s GCHQ Tempora programmes were publicied by the Guardian in June 2013. Alongside that there has been a steady stream of continued exposure of the way in which... »
Personal data has considerable value and people are starting to recognise it. That’s because wherever they go and whatever they do it seems that there are people asking them for that data. From multiple questions when we make even the simplest of requests, to the cookies that are loaded onto our browsers as we surf the net, to the repeated requests to provide feedback and complete surveys, every ... »
Since Edward Snowdon, the US whistle-blower, first leaked details of the NSA’s PRISM and related programs on June 7th, two clear themes have emerged within the ensuing debate. The first is the notion of exchange and the need for this exchange to be equitable. President Obama and others have sought to justify the PRISM program in terms of the exchange of privacy in return for (increased) security,... »
