Follow the Money: How Big Tech buys Academia
“Big Tech manipulates Academia in order to avoid regulation”, claims Rodrigo Ochigame in a recent article in The Intercept. But maybe the headline ought to be: “Big Tech buys Academia in order to avoid regulation”? It started back in 2016 … Read More
Health Data Can Include Your Taste In Music
What if we individuals had a platform where we could access and control of all our health data; from medical investigations to the data collected by our wearables and health apps. A Dutch lawyer is proposing such a platform, but … Read More
How Design Can Decieve and Lure Data Out Of Us
There are many examples of bad design. Unethical design and even illegal design, where services are trying to lure more data out of us than necessary. A really good report from the French Data Protection Agency CNIL is addressing this. … Read More
If You Want To be As Creepy As Facebook – Then Advertise On One Of Its Platforms
Brands should be very careful using one of Facebook’s ad platforms. They are creepy stalkers, and more and more will get annoyed by it. Pouring you marketing money into that might be doing yourself a disservice. The other day I … Read More
How Telefonica Works With Responsible AI
As with most other telcos, Telefonica is looking for new business models, as their old model is becoming extinguished. Privacy and security is one area, where the Spanish telco is investing and seeing new opportunities. For over a year, it … Read More
Zuboff: We Must Protect Our Free Will and Democracy With Law
When talking about data collection and profiling of tech companies, people tend to think: “It does not concern me, I have nothing to hide.” The issue, however, is not about protecting secrets. It is about protecting our free will and … Read More
TikTok: The Clock Ticks for the World’s most Valuable Startup
Growth can happen fast. TikTok was launched in 2017 as a video social networking app for markets outside of Asia, and in November 2019 the app was one of the most downloaded in the world with more than 1.5 billion … Read More
Why it is so Difficult Implementing Ethics in Tech Companies?
Every week the world experiences a new story about the dilemmas in implementing data ethics within the tech industry. It´s becoming a hot topic, and many tech companies have acknowledged that the term data ethics is a parameter in business … Read More
Register Data Ethics Forum Rome, May 29-30
Registration rates: Students/NGO 100 euro Standard 250 euro Business 350 euro The fees include all days of the forum (one full day Friday and half a day Saturday) and lunch both days. … Read More
Data Ethics’ focus on AI 2019-2020
AI decision making systems based on complex data collection and analytics embedded in society are increasingly shaping the opportunities of the human being. Still we do not have standardized ethics and social impact assessments in the design phase of these … Read More
How To Tackle Human Rights In The Age of Data and AI
Our human rights are at stake in the age of surveillance capitalism. Private companies are not bound by human rights law, as states are, but operate in a grey zone between corporate responsibility, data ethics and human rights. A new … Read More
How Ethics and Governance Could Save Democracies
Companies, organisations, goverments and individuals all have a responsibility when it comes to saving our democracy. According to Ulrike Reisach, Professor at the Information Management Department of Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences in Bavaria/Germany, we have a whole lot to … Read More
Wire Moves HQ to the US with Focus on Business not Consumers who helped them Grow
On Wed, Nov 13, 2019 at 7:41 AM Pernille@dataethics.eu <pernille@dataethics.eu> wrote: Dear Wire For years now I have been recommending Wire (over Signal and Telegram) to everybody, and I have turned a lot of people over to you. Your former … Read More
German Commission: Safeguarding Digital Sovereignty of Europe is Ethical Responsibility
The Germans are ahead of other countries when it comes to data ethics and responsible use of data and AI. The government established a Data Ethics Commission in 2018 and has published and opinion on data ethics covering both data … Read More
Danish Companies Behind Seal For Digital Responsibility
Danish companies want to make it a competitive advantage to behave ethically with personal data and are therefore about to establish a seal for ‘good IT security and responsible data use’. It is backed by the Danish government, and The … Read More
Pros and Cons in Blockchain-based Voting Systems
Today elections around the world face problems like violence, corruption, long waiting time, accessibility, affordability and privacy. Blockchain systems promise new opportunities for storing data and securing trust and transparency, but how can they be used to secure elections? Decentralized … Read More
The UN Warns Against Digital Welfare Dystopia
“Careful and transparent consideration should always be given to the questions of why, for whom, when, and how transitions to digital systems take place”, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, states in a report that was … Read More
A Data Democracy is a Slow Compromise
HighLights. Data democracy vs data dictatorship and data monopolies. AI and ethics. Individual data control. These topics went through thorough examination at this year’s DataEthics Forum, where participants from South Africa over the US and all of Europe met and … Read More
Dutch Ethics Expert: Why Do You Accept Mass Surveillance in Denmark?
In 1996 David Brin published a thought experiment on Wired. During an evening in Hamburg I discussed this thought experiment, but I wouldn’t have thought that only a day later arriving in Copenhagen for the Data Ethics Forum, this thought … Read More
Governing AI at MozFest 2019
Watch DataEthics.eu, AccessNow, AlgoritmWatch and Element.ai in panel debate at Mozilla Festival 2019 on Governing AI.
DataEthics’ Mozilla Fellow 2019/20
DataEthics’ Mozilla fellow 2019/20 is now announced. Each year Mozilla Fellows embed at a host organization. Fellows and host organizations are supported by the Ford Foundation, Mozilla and others and work alongside each other fighting for digital rights. See … Read More
AI Recommendations from The Human Brain Project
Here’s some of the fine recommendations from experts in rights and ethics, law, social science, culture, politics and economy in The Human Brain Project who gathered in March 2019 in Copenhagen to discuss what is needed for AI to be … Read More
New Media Pledge: We Shall Not Surveil You
An upcoming new media company had to put a lot of effort into finding a newsletter provider where you can turn off tracking. Compared to most traditional media, who track us all like they were Google or Facebook, this coming … Read More
Bioethics Professor: It Is About Finding The Middle Ground
No way should we let machines and data take over from humans in health care. But we should let machines assist us in the hard work, where they are better than humans. The overriding question is; how much control and … Read More
Beyond Privacy: Embedding Human Values in Technology
How to put human values into voice assistants and to make the digital infrastructure more human centric. Those were two of more topics at the German DLD conference – first time in Brussels – in September. Do watch the videos. … Read More
Professor: Europe must regulate ‘personalisation’ of insurance
A study from University of Zürich looks at how the insurance companies use data to assess, select, price, predict and prevent risks. Big Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence are used in areas such as telematics in car insurance, fraud detection, … Read More
Why trust in AI is not enough
By Gry Hasselbalch and Sille Obelitz Søe How can we trust AI? This is one of the most pressing questions we are facing at the moment with the rapid speed in development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning algorithms. … Read More
How Dark Paterns Trick Users into Giving up Personal Data
Research. Dark patterns are increasingly common on digital platforms including social media websites, shopping websites, mobile apps, and video game. The design is everything from annoying to deceiving. New report from Princeton University on how to trick users into giving … Read More
Privacy in Public is a Neglected Right
According to professor in information science Helen Nissenbaum data protection should apply for all types of information – and not just personal information. In her book ‘Privacy In Context’, she argues that we have a dicotomatic understanding of privacy: something … Read More
Zoom in on Norway’s Whereby for Secure Communication
All you need is a URL. Share it. Go there and you are in the video meeting. No need to create an account or download an app or any software. Most people use US-based video conference tools in stead of … Read More
Danish Data Protection Agency Will Not Fight Google
The GDPR emphasize that when processing data, the design of systems, apps etc must support the principles of fundamental data protection, including the principle of data minimisation. Many games and free apps have previously tracked all kinds of data about … Read More
The Ad Tech Industry in Illegal Operations
The British data protection watchdog ICO is investigating how personal data is used in digital ads. It does not look good. In an interim report, the ad tech industry is blamed for not protecting our data sufficiently in the real … Read More
How Western Democracies Can Try And Win Over China
Fierce competition, ethics and regulations. Such are the answers from Europe and part of the US in a discussion at the Brussels Forum by the German Marshall Fund about how to safeguard our democracies. The packed agenda ended with a … Read More
The UK Takes The Lead on Protecting Children’s Privacy Online
“In a world of connected toys, communications platforms and information services it is extremely difficult for parents and children to to make informed choices or exercise any control over the way services use children’s data. “Often the only choice in … Read More
In a Data Democracy Individuals Control Their Own Data
If individuals control their own data, they control their own lives and neither government nor big companies can manipulate us economically or politically. There is a long way to go for that, but there is a growing movement around ‘my … Read More
EU High Level Expert Group on AI launches policy recommendations
The policy recommendations of the EU High Level Group on AI were published 26th June 2019. DataEthics.eus cofounder Gry Hasselbalch was one of the 52 experts assigned with the tasks to create ethical guidelines (published earlier this year) and policy … Read More
The Ethical Dilemmas in Ageing Science are Accumulating
Interview with Mette Nordahl Svendsen, professor in anthropology and member of the steering group of the Challenge project, researching all the ethical issues involved in health data science. When you are old, sick and cannot speak or move, you need … Read More
A data ethics of power: making sense of data ethics in European policymaking
Summary of Research Article: Data ethics is gaining momentum. Citizens are starting to act on their lack of control over their data, legislation is adapting, and alternative business models and technologies are emerging. But what shape is our ethical awareness … Read More
Is The Scandinavian Digitalisation Breeding Ground For Social Welfare Surveillance?
Analysis. Late April 2019, Denmark was blessed with the formation of a Data Ethics Board. We were many who perhaps was a bit dazzled by this and may have lowered our guards a bit. However, at the exact same time, … Read More
RAIN: Take The Cloud Home With You
As the internet of things evolves, it will eventually become what Steen Rasmussen calls “the internet of everything”. It will be a super infrastructure that is connected to every aspect of our lives and thus a way to gather personal … Read More
Good and Bad Reads: Internet Health, Big Tech Lobbyism, Not Smart City, Surveillance As A Service
Mozilla Internet Health Report 2019 This year’s annual report from Mozilla focuses on three issues, AI, digital advertising and cities, not smart cities, but how city governments and civil society can work togeter to make the internet healthier. Mozilla writes: … Read More
The Cookies Arms Race
Blog. When Apple blocked by default all third party cookies in its Safari-browser, Facebook and others made a circumvention and used a first party cookie to track us. Apple is back with an answer to that. The ad tech industry … Read More
How Facial Recognition Dangerously Creeps In On Us
News. Facial recognition is a critical technology for us to debate before we deploy it all over to catch criminals, make a profit on selling the technology or using it to reduce headcount by replacing humans. San Francisco just banned … Read More
China’s Algorithm of Oppression
News. Human Rights Watch (HRW) got access to an app, “Integrated Joint Operations Platform” (IJOP), which they say the Chinese authority in the western Xinjiang region uses to surveil and categorise the local population. By ‘reverse engineering’ HRW was able … Read More
All The Things Computers Can’t Do
Blog. We are forgetting the nature of humans, when we are applying the methods of computer problems. Human ability to think in the whole can never pass on to the computer whose language is binary encoding of data. And human … Read More
Personalised Medicine and the European Data Misery
Blog. Obtaining relevant patient data for pharmaceutical and medical research in Europe is no easy task. To keep pace with American and Chinese companies there is a solution: Let European citizens exercise their right to a copy of their data, … Read More
Modern Crypto Offers A Solution to Data Privacy Concerns
BLOG. If we want to use personal data to enhance our lives and society, we need to do it in a way that can be trusted and does not compromise our privacy. Danish scientists offer a solution where data is … Read More
The People-Centric City is A Warm Smart City
Get this article in Spanish here Blog. The future is lying in the cities. In 1950, approximately 1 billion people were living in urbanized areas on our planet; by the end of this century UN projections forecast that 85% of the world … Read More
A human centric approach to AI: The EU Ethics Guidelines for AI
The EU’s first ethics guidelines on AI have been published. Dataethics.eu’s cofounder Gry Hasselbalch is a member of the EC High Level Expert Group that developed the guidelines. She sat down on the day of the launch and outlined her … Read More
To Google or Not to Google? That’s an Easy Answer
Blog. We went from Age of Humans to Age of Google in just 20 years. You can never trust Google to tell the truth and the whole truth about what the data monopoly knows about you. But here is how … Read More
Data Democracy – The European Way
Blog. The global AI race has been on for a while. It is about speedy automation, and China and the US are heading in a fierce competition, where human autonomy is secondary to economic growth. China operates as a ‘data … Read More
Popular App Punished for Disturbing Practices towards Children
News. The Chinese app TikTok (former Musical.ly) has been fined under the American privacy law COPPA for disturbing practices towards children. Is YouTube next? The American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that the app TikTok for years directed their service … Read More
It Take Only a Few Clicks to get ON but Forever to get OFF
News. What happens when you want to dispatch yourselves from the Big Five: Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple? Is it possible? US-journalist Kashmir Hill set out for a 6-weeks period to figure out how to disconnect herself from the … Read More
Save the Date for European Data Ethics Forum 2019 – and Help Get Us a Sponsor
Event. The fourth European Data Ethics Forum will be Thursday October 10th in Copenhagen at CFL. We (DataEthics.eu and our cool partner Danish IT) already have a bunch of truely interesting speakers such as UN Global Pulse, who has 75 … Read More
GDPR Stops Blockchain from Challenging Big Tech’s Data Monopoly
Analysis. Permissionless public blockchain technology could challenge large social networks such as Facebook, where users have to accept the fact that they have to give away their data in order to be a part of the network. With the European … Read More
How China Will Beat the US on AI
Blog. The Chinese Government’s role in China’s tech revolution and application of AI is huge and clever – and according to Kai-Fu Lee, a Chinese-American investor, China will very soon catch up with and possibly surpass the US in artificial … Read More
DataEthics and Coming Events in 2019
From our own world. Three exciting events coming up this spring. And mark you calendars for October 10th where the 4th European Data Ethics Forum will take place in Copenhagen. Our thinkdotank participates in many international meetings giving expert advice … Read More
UK Gov Report: Micro-targeting In Political Campaigns Is Manipulation
Analysis. Micro-targeting and data analytics in political campaigns disregard voters’ personal privacy and they cannot make truly informed choices. Facebook is lying when they say they don’t sell data and chose profits over security. And social media should be accountable … Read More
Location Stalking Can Give You Higher Prices
News. A new way of getting you to pay the optimal price – according to the seller – is to higher the price, the closer you get to a physical store, according to a story In Yahoo Finance. But this … Read More
Techlash: Why Google Is Next
Blog. 2o18 was the year of the techlash. Mainly driven by the revelations of Facebook’s yearlong laissez-faire with personal data and Cambridge Analytica’s abuse of it. Google, however, worries that they are next, and there is a good reason for … Read More
US Experience With Predictive Policing and ‘dirty data’: Treat it With Skepticism
Study. At least 13 jurisdictions in the US are currently using predictive policing systems or have previously been engaged in predictive policing pilots. An examination of the implications of using dirty data with predictive policing shows an elevated risks of … Read More
If We Lose Touch, We Lose Humanity
Analysis. By relying on data profiling and even more data predictions, we risk loosing our human senses and intuition. We risk replacing fundamental human skills with data analysis and machine learning. It is easy and convenient, and it is already … Read More
Germany Takes First Step to Stop The Surveillance Business Model
Blog. Are we seeing a Europe working towards prohibiting the fundamental surveillance business model of Facebook, Google and the ad tech industry? So, it seems from a recent German antitrust decision and a EU comment. In February the German antitrust … Read More
Event March 19, 2019: Tracking by Default – Infrastructures and Atmospheres of Surveillance
Today the spaces we move in are extended by digital infrastructures that tracks us by default. Surveillance has become ordinary. Conducted by not only state actors, but also commercial actors and embedded in the digital and physical architecture and atmospheres … Read More
Activity Tracking in the Workplace: Do’s and Don’ts
Activity tracking technologies, also known as wearables, are technologies that track your every step, pulse, pace, active minutes and even sleep. Data from these devices are not only used for good but can be misused to learn about individual health … Read More
Google Fined And Accused For Privacy Deprivation
Analysis. The French data protection authority, CNIL, finds that Google – with its dominant market position and its economic model based on data – deprives users of essential privacy rights, and thus has issued the biggest fine ever of 50 … Read More
Predictions All Over
Blog. Anything that can be predicted will be predicted. Such were the words in one of many events in Davos during World Economic Forum 2019. Artificial intelligence, privacy and ethics and data for good use were among the hot topics … Read More
First European Ethical Charter on AI in Judicial Systems
News. How do we make sure that artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial systems are compliant with international standards like the European Convention on Human Rightsand the Council of Europe convention on data protection? According to Council of Europe a brand … Read More
The Amorality of the Moral Machine
Analysis. In the discussion of decision-making in autonomous cars we must be aware of the data these system have access to. On what basis are autonomous cars going to determine humans right to life? And are we willing to take … Read More
Europe Scrutinizes The Data Broking Industry
News. For years the US has been investigating the data broker industry. Now Europe are taking a closer look into their activities. For years, data brokers have operated in the shadows, but with GDPR and a shift in public opinion … Read More
Report: Ban The Personal Identifiable Data Part of Ad Tech
Report. Go beyond GDPR and ban sending personally identifiable data out to advertising networks. Such are the recommendation from the British New Economics Foundation, who is working to transform the economy to work for people and the planet, in its … Read More
European High Level AI Expert Group Publishes First Draft of Ethics Guidelines
The High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, which was appointed by the European Commission this summer has released the first draft of its Ethics Guidelines for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). In this document, the independent group of 52 experts, … Read More
UK Children’s Commissioner Report: Who Knows What About Me?
Blog. For each year passing by more children are getting online, and younger children are spending more and more of their day online. A new study from the UK Children’s Commissioner is on a very important mission: To kickstart thoughts … Read More
Why Data Ethics is a Matter for Librarians
Blog. Knowledge is power! And therefore, knowledge must be managed with great responsibility. Many librarians and information professionals are aware and devoted to this when building bridges between people and knowledge. Knowledge as a concept can have many approaches. … Read More
New Report: AI scenarios, ethical considerations and recommendations
Artificial intelligence, AI, is a popular topic. A future scenario, in which everything and everyone are connected via intelligent machines and networks that constantly exchange data which decides our options and defines and guides us, is no longer science fiction; … Read More
Individual Data Control and Certification Schemes Is Coming Up
News. The era of data ethics is upon us—and only those with the highest standards will win over global customers, says an article in SAP’s magasine The D!gitalist who is also listing new models for data management once consumers and … Read More
European Complaints Against Data Brokers
News. Privacy International has filed complaints against 7 data brokers (Acxiom, Oracle), ad-tech companies (Criteo, Quantcast, Tapad), and credit referencing agencies (Equifax, Experian) with data protection authorities in France, Ireland, and the UK. It is a huge, well-research set of complaints that … Read More
Use of Machine Learning Can Give Students Better Feedback and Privacy
Blog. Learning processes and tests at schools and universities are typically highly personal. Therefore in the past, these data have not been shared. Now, researchers at The Technical University of Denmark, have found a way to share these data without … Read More
New Study: So Much for Micro-Targetting
Research. New study casts doubt on the ability of new technology to target effectively. Many people believe that we are all being micro-targetted with manipulative ads and messages from politicians. But an Australian study proves different. Personalised advertising may be … Read More
Trust – an intrinsic value or just a competitive advantage?
Blog. The word trust is often used in discussions about data ethics. But what is the relation between trust and ethics? Which values are inviolable and worth fighting for? In ethics and moral theory it is common to distinguish between … Read More
When Data Ethics Reached The Global Agenda
Blog. Report from the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. Big tech, capitalising big on other peoples’ data, were scolded. Others hit the roof talking about saving democracy and humanity. Facebook has at least 11 ways of … Read More
Is Freedom of Speech Protected on the Internet?
Blog. Many might assume that their freedom of speech is protected online. The internet is a global structure connecting us all, and to many it might seem like a public space, but the social platforms we use to communicate with … Read More
Debating Ethics: We Need A ‘Manual Override’ Button
DataEthics.eu is invited to participate in the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners Debating Ethics. We are part of a Creative Café involving ‘specially invited knowledge holders’ discussing ‘How To Move Forward In Digital Ethics?’ Below are … Read More
Ethics Washing Is When Ethics is A Substitute for Regulation
Paper. The rise of the ethical technology debate runs in parallel to the increasing resistance to any regulation at all. Assistant professor Ben Wagner is worried that the focus on ethics can be used as a way of getting around … Read More
European DataEthics Forum 2018 in Drawings
EVENT. DPO Julia Sommer has done some great drawings from European DataEthics Forum 2018. You can read more about the conference here and here. See you next year. Sign up to our monthly newsletter to get the news about it. … Read More
European DataEthics Forum Went One Step Deeper
EVENT. With the third European DataEthics Forum in Copenhagen we once again demonstrated that we are way beyond talking about data ethics. We do it. And this year we went deeper with for example demonstrations of how to explain an … Read More
Six Precautionary Steps For Developing AI
Report. With AI technologies evolving and being integrated into our society, the possible dangers connected with AI are becoming more real than ever. These risks involve the emerging of surveillance governments, the creation of unfair and discriminating systems and societies, … Read More
Proposal: A Global Approval Committee of New Tech
Blog. Third party audits and a global committee to approve of (new use of) new technologies to make sure global human right and ethical principles are respected. Those are two of the concrete suggestions coming out of a global governance … Read More
Bad Data Challenge
News. Bad data can seriously impact on fundamental rights and liberties. Therefore, Spanish-based Eticas Foundation has launched a BAD DATA Challenge, a research, mobilization and awareness project that aims to demystify data and question whether the quality and accuracy of … Read More
Big Tech Builds Smart Cities – How About The Public’s Best Interests?
Blog. Google’s plan of building a neighborhood in Toronto is moving forward. Until recently, urban planning was done by public authorities where the public had a right to know what was going on. These days might be over. There is … Read More
Courses and education in Robo and AI Ethics
NEWS: Robots and AI real life actors were 20th Century figments of sci fi imagination. But increasingly robots, robotic and AI technologies are embedded in our every day lives acting in and transforming our culture, economy and society. Are we prepared … Read More
Adblockers On The Rise Due To Privacy Concerns
Report. Concerns for privacy is an explanation for the growth in ad-blocking software according to a new report from Reuters Institute. It also looks at how we get our news. Almost one third (31%) of all the people questioned in … Read More
How to Build Explainable AI
Event. We’ve heard much about ‘black box algorithms and AI’. Secret systems that analyse and predicts your credit score and search results, your likability of getting the flue or winning a game. ‘Black box’ means secret, a business secret just … Read More
European E-Shops Personalise Content – But Not Prices
Study. A wide EU-study shows that 92% of the airline ticket websites, 76% of hotel room websites, and 41% of websites selling sports shoes personalise offers, when a consumer enters the site. The price differentiation, though, seems to be very … Read More
Research: Google Checks Your Location 14 Times Per Hour
Research. Google sucks up more personal data than most people could imagine. Even when a Chrome browser is in “incognito” mode, shows new research form Vanderbilt University. Google denies it and tries to miscredit the professor behind. Get a list … Read More
DataEthics Principles to Safeguard The Autonomy of Humans
Who should be the most autonomous. Cars? Chat bots? AI based doctors? Or Humans? Humans, of course, and if we aim to keep humans behind the wheel, we need data ethical considerations on top of our privacy policies. But what … Read More
Service Helps You Ask: Do You Have My Data And What Do You Do With It?
Blog. Do you want to know, if a service sits on your personal data and what it does with it? With one click you can ask more than 60 of the bigger companies instead of writing them one by one. … Read More
No one Does or Should be Able to own Data
Research. Businesses, politicians and scholars all call for property rights in data. But this should be avoided according to a research paper from University of Californation. “Various parties are actively staking their claims to data on the Internet of Things, … Read More
Cool Keynotes and Company Cases on DataEthics at Forum in Copenhagen
EVENT. The woman who is fighting Facebook. The man who is fighting Google. A bunch of privacy and data ethics focused startups and companies. And a wonderful international network of humans who are interested in using personal data in an … Read More
