5.1.21: Restrictions on Data Collecting
- Page ID
- 38281
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)In the United State the government has strict guidelines on how much information can be collected about its citizens. Certain classes of information have been restricted by laws over time and the advent of digital tools has made these restrictions more important than ever.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
Websites that collect information from children under the age of thirteen are required to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To comply with COPPA, organizations must make a good-faith effort to determine the age of those accessing their websites and, if users are under thirteen years old, must obtain parental consent before collecting any information.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a US law that protects the privacy of student education records. In brief, this law specifies that parents have a right to their child’s educational information until the child reaches either the age of eighteen or begins attending school beyond the high school level. At that point control of the information is given to the child. While this law is not specifically about the digital collection of information on the Internet, the educational institutions that are collecting student information are at a higher risk for disclosing it improperly because of digital technologies.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) singles out records related to health care as a special class of personally identifiable information. This law gives patients specific rights to control their medical records, requires health care providers and others who maintain this information to get specific permission in order to share it, and imposes penalties on the institutions that breach this trust. Since much of this information is now shared via electronic medical records, the protection of those systems becomes paramount.
The European Union, in an effort to help people take control over their personal data, passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2016. While this protection applies to the countries in the EU, it is having an impact of U.S. companies using the Internet as well. The regulation went into effect May 25, 2018.
EU and non-EU countries have different approaches to protecting the data of individuals. The focus in the U.S. has been on protecting data privacy so that it does not impact commercial interests.
In the EU, the individual’s data privacy rights supersede those of business. Under GDPR data cannot be transferred to countries that do not have adequate data protection for individuals. Currently, those countries include, but are not limited to, the United States, Korea, and Japan. While the GDPR applies to countries in the EU, it is having an impact around the world as businesses in other countries seek to comply with this regulation. IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from https://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/in...-to-the-gdpr11 One week prior to the effective date of May 25, 2018, only 60% of companies surveyed reported they would be ready by the deadline. Information Management retrieved from https://www.informationmanagement.co...n-regulation12 Clearly, the message of GDPR has gone out around the world. It is likely that greater data protection regulations will forthcoming from the U.S. Congress as well.
Sidebar: Do Not Track
When it comes to getting permission to share personal information, the US and the EU have different approaches. In the US, the “opt- out” model is prevalent. In this model the default agreement states that you have agreed to share your information with the organization and must explicitly tell them that you do not want your information shared. There are no laws prohibiting the sharing of your data, beyond some specific categories of data such as medical records. In the European Union the “opt-in” model is required to be the default. In this case you must give your explicit permission before an organization can share your information.
To combat this sharing of information, the Do Not Track initiative was created. As its creators explain:
Do Not Track is a technology and policy proposal that enables users to opt out of tracking by websites they do not visit, including analytics services, advertising networks, and social platforms. At present few of these third parties offer a reliable tracking opt out and tools for blocking them are neither user-friendly nor comprehensive. Much like the popular Do Not Call registry, Do Not Track provides users with a single, simple, persistent choice to opt out of third- party web tracking.
Section Attributions
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethics↵
- Grigonis, H. (2018, April 5). Nine Things to Know About Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. Digital Trends. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/socialmedia/what-facebook-users-should-know-about-cambridgeanalytica-and-privacy/
- Association for Computing Machinery (1992, October 16) ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Intellectual Property. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictio...ctual/property
- United States Department of Justice. (n.d.). Copyright Infringement – First Sale Doctrine. Retrieved fromhttps://www.justice.gov/archives...-sale-doctrine
- United States Copyright Office. (n.d.). Fair Use Index. Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
- United States Patent and Trademark Office (n.d.). What Is A Patent? Retrieved from http://www.uspto.gov/patents/
- United States Patent and Trademark Office (n.d.). Visualization Center. Retrieved from http://www.uspto.gov/patents/
- Bachmann, S. (2016, December 22). America’s Big 5 Tech companies increase patent filings, Microsoft holds lead in AI technologies. IP Watchdog. Retrieved from http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/12/22...tent/id=76019/
- McAllister, E., Grance, T., and Scarfone, K. (2010, April). Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/ nistpubs/800-122/sp800-122.pdf
- Sanz, R. M. G. (2018, April 30). Your Guide to the GDPR. IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from https://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/in...your-guide-to- the-gdpr
- Zafrin, W. (2018, May 25). Playing Catch-up with the General Data Protection Regulation. Information Management. Retrieved from https://www.informationmanagement.com/opinion/playing-catch-up-with-the-generaldata-protection-regulation
- Electronic Frontier Foundation. (n.d.). Do Not Track. Retrieved from http://donottrack.us/