Stop the world, I want to get off! Well, they’ve stopped the world, but we want to stay on. However hard we’re trying to keep up with business as usual, it’s inevitable that the pace is going to slow once the initial burst of adaptation has passed. Use this opportunity to take stock Not only … Continue reading Fellow privacy professionals – your country needs you!
Everyone seems to be doing it. How many emails have you received this week with a "Covid-19 update" subject line? Sent by businesses you might have had some kind of contact with at some point in the last 10 years. Dressed up as service emails - even though you don't actually have any kind of … Continue reading Don’t dig the hole deeper
Society has always had its share of bad apples. Even now, in the midst of an unprecedented crisis all some people can see is the opportunity to take advantage of others. There’s been a huge uptick in all kinds of fraud, usually targeting people’s understandable anxieties about the virus or their own financial situation. Here’s what you … Continue reading One man’s crisis is another man’s opportunity.
Please, if you're working with personal data as part of the Covid19 response, whether as an employer, a healthcare professional, a privacy specialist or a data scientist, try to think about the possible long term harm you could be causing as you try for short-term good.
Since Plato, philosophers have invested countless hours and words on the investigation of ethics. What makes something right or wrong? What do we mean by acting morally or immorally – or indeed amorally. Are good and bad fixed and objective facts, or just opinions relative to your culture, your religion, your circumstances, your place in … Continue reading Deus ex machina
I've been on a blogging hiatus - mostly because the news always seems to be much the same. Don't worry, though, it's getting interesting again and I have things to say, so watch this space for some proper blogging soon. In the meantime: Please, even if you don't actually sell ads, stop colluding with the … Continue reading Quick Friday grumble
Only yesterday we saw the first proper fine of the post-GDPR era. A mere £183m. Today we hear that the ICO also intends to fine Marriott hotels just under £100m. More than a quarter of a billion pounds in 48 hours. For context, in the whole of last year the total fines for data protection … Continue reading Ten steps to avoid losing £283m
