Privacy and ethical implications of the use of social media during a volcanic eruption: some
initial thoughts
Hayley Watson & Rachel Finn - Trilateral Research & Consulting
ISCRAM 2013 – ELSI Track - #ISCRAM2013 #ELSI
COSMIC - the COntribution of Social Media In Crisis management
2
APRIL 2013 – MAY 2015
Website coming soon
Objective: identify the most effective ways to utilise new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in crisis situations for the protection of ordinary citizens.
Specific to ELSI:• Different technologies/applications – reliability/misuse• Citizen involvement – miscommunication, misunderstanding, vigilante activities
• Challenges – security, safety, privacy & surveillance• Political, social and industrial opportunities arising from the use of emerging technologies
• Assess policies & standards• European Dynamics• Trilateral Research & Consulting• Radboud University Nijmegen
(Crisislab)• Koç University• Hellenic Rescue Team• Public Safety Communication Europe• Safety Region South Holland South
For further information, or to be added to our mailing
list please contact me:
Resulting in guidelines for stakeholders! (Including
citizens!!)
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in March and April 2010
Context3
©BBC – 15 April 2010 - Icelandic volcanic ash alert grounds UK flights
Resulted in the grounding of aircraft across Europe…and
beyond.
International Air Transport Association
(2010)
100,000 flights cancelled
1.2 million passengers affected
Financial loss - $1.7 billion
The role of social media Stranded in Europe
Bridging of ICT’s. Consideration of practical limitations of citizens
e.g., loss of Internet access, anonymisation of user data.
Benefits – mobilisation of social capitalSocial media use4
The role of social media
Social media use5
EUROCONTROL: • Multiple applications (e.g., YouTube,
Facebook & Twitter)• Rise in audience figures
• Twitter: 300 – 7,300 in a week• Responded to over 200
questions per day• Facebook: 2000 – 5000 fans
Ethical, privacy and data protection implications
Implications6
Considerations…
Data protecti
on
Privacy
Ethical & social
Privacy & data protection Data protection infringements? Privacy infringements? Discrimination? Surveillance?
Next steps? Further research…COSMIC!!! Good practice
Anonymisation efforts (Stranded in Europe) Data protection protocols for Crisis Mapping – iRevolution
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – 2013 – “Professional standards for protection work”.
Transparency Training & awareness raising
Privacy and data protection7
Digital divide Access – blog, technology, money (credit)... Knowledge/Awareness Skills
Next steps/considerations Stakeholder awareness? Addressing this issue?
E.g., maintaining engagement with old & new media. To what extent is this an issue?
Other?? Public training?
Digital divide8
Exploitation Exploitation of citizens in a crisis?
How much is too much?
Are users activities, engagement etc. exploited after an event? E.g. – citizen awareness of data use policies
Collection of profiled information on Facebook/Twitter – future advertising.
Next steps? Awareness raising…
Exploitation9
Thank you
Hayley Watson & Rachel Finn - Trilateral Research & Consulting
ISCRAM 2013
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