Finding Balance in the Age of Open Data: Some Policy and Legal

Considerations

Rishi Maharaj Information Access and Privacy Professional

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“Information is the Oxygen of democracy. If

People do not know what is happening in their

society, if the actions of those who rule them

are hidden, then they cannot take a meaningful

part in the affairs of that society”

http://www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/righttoknow.pdf

Open Data and Open Government

Open Data therefore enshrines the concept that neither the government of the day nor civil servants create data for their benefit, but for the benefit of the public. Data is generated with public money, as such, it cannot be unreasonably kept from citizens.

Image credit: http://bit.ly/ux2dNb/

Access to Information

‘the right to information lays the foundation upon which to build good governance and transparency…. It is the key to moving from formal to consultative and responsive democracy’

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

The Open Data Challenge

Bureaucracy Citizenry

What Bodies are covered by the Act?

Public Authority a.If it exercises any function on behalf of the state b.if it was established by virtue of the President, by a Minister of

Government in his capacity or by another public authority c.an organization that is supported directly or indirectly by

Government funds and over which Government is in a position to exercise control

Parliament Courts

State owned enterprise

Ministries ,THA Regional

Authorities Courts

What information can be released?

Benefits of Access to Information Legislation

Promote democratic governance

Improves service delivery

Supports participatory development

Exposes corruption

Fosters economic development

Transparency and Accountability

Information not accessible via Access to Information Legislation

International Relations

Law Enforcement

Documents affecting legal proceedings

Internal Working

Defense and Security documents

Trade secrets documents

Material obtained in confidence

Where secrecy provisions apply

Documents affecting the economy and

commercial affairs

Public Interest

• Notwithstanding any law to the contrary a public authority shall give access to an exempt document where there is reasonable evidence that significant: – Abuse of authority of neglect in the performance of official duty;

or – Injustice to an individual; or – Danger to the health or safety of an individual or of the public; or – Unauthorised use of public funds

has or is likely to have occurred or in the circumstances giving access to the document is justified in the public interest having regard both to any benefit and to any damage that may arise from doing so.

Public Interest

• An important thing to note about this test is that it has a presumption in favour of disclosure.

• The burden is on the public authority to show that the public interest in withholding the information is greater then the public interest in disclosure.

Privacy Protection

“Personal data is the new oil of the Internet and the new currency of the digital world.” Meglena Kuneva, European Consumer Commissioner, March 2009

Information Privacy Defined

• Information Privacy: Data Protection

– Freedom of choice; personal control; informational self-determination;

– Control over the collection, use and disclosure of any recorded information about an identifiable individual;

– Privacy principles as embodied in “General Privacy Principles”

– Global Privacy Standard (2006).

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Why is the Protection of Personal Information necessary?

• Privacy has long been understood to have a value in a civil society that respects inherent rights & values of mankind

• T&T Constitution enshrines the right to privacy

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that privacy is a fundamental human right

• Privacy is an important element in the control of electronic activities such as unsolicited marketing & spam

• We are currently confronting the rise of what I refer to as “digital dossiers”…. As businesses and the government increasingly share personal information, digital dossiers about nearly every individual are being assembled. This raises serious concerns. The information gathered about us has become quite extensive, and it is being used in ways that profoundly affect our lives. Yet, we know little about how our personal information is being used, and we lack the power to do much about it.”

(Solove, 2010, p. 1)

Privacy Protection

Different type of Data

• Personal data: information that is or can be linked directly or indirectly to some person.

• Statistical data: data without any personal information.

Privacy Protection

Challenge

• The need to protect against disclosure of personal information in confidential data (and against discovery of personal information from

statistical data by matching techniques).

vs.

• The need to provide access to microdata for research.

Privacy Protection

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Data Sharing & Data Matching

Government is subject to specific responsibilities re data sharing and data matching that recognizes the importance of Government as a primary holder of info about individuals

Where a Public Body intends to share and or match info with other Public Body, it shall do so only pursuant to an agreement in a manner prescribed by the Information Commissioner

Access by Design

7 basic principles

1. Be Proactive not Reactive 2. Access embedded into design 3. Openness and Transparency = Accountability 4. Fosters Collaboration 5. Enhances efficient government Collaboration 6. Makes Access truly Accessibility 7. Increases Quality of Information

Source: http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/accessbydesign_7fundamentalprinciples.pdf

Privacy by Design

7 basic principles

1. Be Proactive not Reactive

2. Privacy as the Default

3. Privacy Embedded into Design

4. Positive – Sum not Zero-Sum

5. End to End Security (Life Cycle Protection)

6. Visibility and Transparency

7. Respect for User Privacy

Source: http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/7foundationalprinciples.pdf

THANK YOU