Data Privacy

Privacy and security are terms that are often used interchangeably when talking about digital services.  Yet, they are actually two different concepts.  John Bogna in his article, "Privacy vs. Security: What is the difference?", gives some great definitions and examples below:

• Privacy refers to the control that you have over your personal information and how that information is used. Personal information is any information that can be used to determine your identity.
• Security refers to how protected your personal information is.

The difference between data privacy and data security comes down to who and what your data is being protected from. Security can be defined as protecting data from malicious threats, while privacy is more about using data responsibly.

Other definition:

Privacy is the ability to decide who gets to know what about you. Security is the steps you take to protect important things or information. 

Data privacy and security are concepts used in both personal and professional digital services.  Managing both data privacy and security are essential to safe use of digital services.

Bogna, John. “Privacy vs. Security: What's the Difference?” How-To Geek, How-To Geek, 19 Nov. 2021, https://www.howtogeek.com/765272/privacy-vs-security-whats-the-difference/.

US legislation to protect the personal privacy of individuals began with the US Constitution in 1789.  Some important laws related to data privacy include:

• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 - federal law protecting student information
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) - federal law protecting health information privacy
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 - federal law granting parents control over what information websites or applications can collect about their children
• Graham-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 - federal law requiring financial institutions to protect information and disclose what personal information they share
• European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2018 - gives a broad definition of what personal data is and how companies can collect and use the data when doing business in Europe
• California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 - grants California residents more control over personal information collected by businesses including deleting or opting out of sharing the information.
• California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 aka Proposition 24 - extends the California Consumer Privacy Act to limit what personal information may be collected by businesses and what they can do with the information. 
• New York Privacy Act - this is a similar bill to the California Consumer Privacy Act granting protections over private data to NY residents.  This bill has not yet passed the NY legislature.

See this History of Privacy Timeline for more information.

Using social media and other digital services is convenient.  Yet, how often do we think about the risks to our privacy when we use these services?  Think about potential risks to our or other's privacy when using each of these digital features:

• The ability to tag other people in photographs
• Facial recognition technology that automatically scans photographs and suggests people in them
• Ability to remotely turn on or off items in a home and check their usage
• Map or GPS software/apps that store common travel patterns
• Advertising customized to your interests, based on search and purchase history
• Single sign-on to multiple websites or services (for example, linked to a social media account)
• The ability to remotely turn on apps that can locate a device
• Facial recognition-enabled, internet-linked CCTV cameras in high-crime areas
• The ability to sign on to devices or access locations with biometrics (like fingerprints)

Claire Lobdell, lobdellc@gcc.mass.edu, Greenfield Community College, 2018. (CC BY 4.0)