Expert panel cites dangers of sharing data
The data you share online is being used for and against you, and you should care.
That’s the message panellists at the University of Windsor had for the public following a discussion on e-commerce, algorithms, big data and consumer deception and protection at the school Wednesday.
Every time consumers download apps, make online purchases, or even wear devices to monitor physical activity, they give their consent — whether they know it or not — for companies to track their behaviour, panellists said. Worse, the data collected has the potential to be used against them in the future.
“What if the insurance company can actually monitor our health habits?” asked panellist Niva Elkin-Koren, founding director of the Haifa Center for Law and Technology in Israel. Such health insurance already exists in the form of interactive policies, she said. “A Fitbit or an Apple Watch can monitor the way you exercise, or how long you sleep at night,” she said. For people who sign up for these specialized plans, this technology can provide companies with information to tailor premiums based on risks measured from vital signs.
Laws are needed to regulate online applications and algorithms to ensure they work for the benefit of the consumer, rather than the benefit of the seller, she said. Companies could use big data and algorithms to implement personalized pricing, in which suppliers identify the highest price each consumer would be willing to pay, and charge each person differently, said Pascale Chapdelaine, associate professor in the University of Windsor’s faculty of law. She added no evidence of the practice happening exists yet.
“If we’re talking about consumer deception as consumers not understanding the choices they’re making, I can be an optimist and say that maybe organizations aren’t intentionally trying to deceive consumers — a big leap to make,” said Vance Lockton, strategic policy and research analyst in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
In his work, he’s looked at how to better empower consumers to make informed decisions, he said. But a real solution to big data problems would be giving algorithm and data regulators better privacy legislation to follow.
Panel discussions like Wednesday’s help contribute to a final solution, he said.
“We hear about a new security breach every week, hacking stories, so we need to think about how can we sort of minimize that such things are happening, perhaps by increasing the accountability and the liability of the providers who are implicated,” said Chapdelaine. “Some of the issues are overwhelming, and there may be a tendency to be apathetic about it,” she said.
“That’s not a good thing. It never is, in terms of democracy, in terms of how you are treated as a consumer, in terms of how you are treated as a patient.” Instead, Chapdelaine encourages the public to complain whenever they see practices that are “worrisome,” like being forced to opt-in to receiving emails from businesses upon visiting websites or downloading applications. “We should take that extra time to complain to the supplier. There are lots of forums for that now.”