Balance needed for open data, privacy for smart cities: panelist

TORONTO — Smart cities will require a proper framework that respects both big data use and the call for entrenched privacy, according to a representative from the World Council for City Data (WCCD). “There’s a more accurate middle ground in all of this that we haven’t reached yet, so people in this sector need to start to consider what is a good framework for data governance,” Patricia McCarney said as a panelist discussing privacy and regulation in future cities at the Big Data Toronto conference Wednesday. McCarney, whose organization uses metrics to improve cities, noted the importance of open data in the functioning of smart cities, but also the concept of privacy by design that would strengthen citizens’ trust in the data use process. It is especially timely, she said, considering inappropriate use of Facebook Inc. data that has been making the news rounds for months. Whereas people freely shared information on Facebook years ago, the explosiveness of that misappropriated data has put it top of mind for many. “The pendulum has definitely swung,” McCarney said. “ There’s this tension now between open data and privacy.” “The biggest challenge for cities right now on this front is to find a reasonable balance in that pendulum swing between what we might call open data that’s open by default and data that is privacy by design,” she added. On the first day of the two-day event on artificial intelligence and big data, the conference heard about the robustness of Canada’s existing privacy framework, and how it can be leveraged for newer technologies such as AI. McCarney, who preached about the importance of data throughout the panel session, said her organization is working on writing a data governance framework. She said considering recent trade war tensions with the United States, it’s time for Canada to take control of its data destination. But she also said there has been progress made on the data protection front. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides consent-focused guidelines and rules around how data is collected, maintained, used and deleted data. Following its study of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the House of Commons ethics committee released a report recommended the government have consent as a guiding principle. Furthermore, as part of its 2018 budget, the government of Ontario noted that it would explore a data strategy so that citizens can take advantage of publicly-available information. “It’s how we start to weave these things together and come up with a better and solid framework for moving forward,” McCarney added. “I think that’s the challenge for all of us...it’s tough and it’s a really complex playing field right now.” In May, former co-CEO of Blackberry Ltd. Jim Balsillie told the ethics committee studying Facebook that Canada needs a national data strategy to counter what he called the “surveillance capitalism” of the internet giants. Days following that testimony, his Centre for Digital Rights, which seeks to enhance Canadians’ digital rights and privacy, registered to lobby the government. But a national strategy cannot mean neglect for city-level data, McCarney said later, addressing a question about sustainability. That’s because the cities produce the data that will determine issues such as air quality and safe drinking water. “You need harmonization of data across all levels,” she said. “Data at the city level, data at the provincial level...data at the national level.” — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Balance needed for open data, privacy for smart cities: panelist

News | June 15, 2018

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Balance needed for open data, privacy for smart cities: panelist

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