Open Privacy

Concept and project related to open privacy standards.

URL = http://www.openprivacy.org/

Project: OpenPrivacy.org

" The OpenPrivacy initiative is an Open Source collection of software frameworks, protocols and services providing a cryptographically secure and distributed platform for creating, maintaining, and selectively sharing user profile information.

In effect, OpenPrivacy is the first open platform that enables user control over personal data while simultaneously - and at user discretion - providing marketers with access to higher quality profile segments. The resulting marketplace for anonymous demographic profiles will create opportunities for a new breed of personalized services that provide people and businesses with timely and relevant information. Throughout the system, information may be shared with guaranteed personal privacy, creating at last a level playing field for the user, marketer and infomediaries." (http://www.openprivacy.org/)

Discussion

Proposed Privacy Manifesto

Alec Saunders [1]:

" Here are four principles that form a Privacy Manifesto for the Web 2.0 Era.

1. Every customer has the right to know what private information is being collected. That rules out any secret data collection schemes, as well as monitoring regimes that the customer hasn’t agreed to in advance. It also rules out any advertising scheme that relies on leaving cookies on a customer’s hard disk without the customer’s consent.

2. Every customer has the right to know the purpose for which the data is being collected, in advance. Corporations must spell out their intent, in advance, and not deviate from that intent. Reasonable limits must be imposed on the collection of personal information that are consistent with the purpose for which it is being collected. Furthermore, the common practice of inserting language into privacy policies stating that the terms may be modified without notice should be banned. If the corporation collecting data wishes to change its policy then it’s incumbent upon the corporation to obtain the consent of customers in advance.

3. Each customer owns his or her personal information. Corporations may not sell that information to others without the customer’s consent. Customers may ask, at any time, to review the personal information collected; to have the information corrected, if that information is in error; and to have the information removed from the corporation’s database.

4. Customers have a right to expect that those collecting their personal information will store it securely. Employees and other individuals who have access to that data must treat it with the same level of care as the organization collecting it is expected to." (http://gigaom.com/2008/01/08/a-privacy-manifesto-for-the-web-20-era/)