New Research Project: Privacy Value Networks
I spotted this on the Oxford Internet Institute Newsletter, which may be of interest to those looking at privacy and identity.
3. New Research Project: Privacy Value Networks
————————————————–The OII is to lead the £2m Privacy Value Networks project: one of three awarded funding under the Technology Strategy Board’s ‘Ensuring Privacy and Consent’ research programme. It will investigate the way the public thinks about privacy and how organisations can model the costs and benefits of processing personal information.
Project website: http://www.pvnets.org/
Project PI Dr Ian Brown, said: “Privacy has become a major issue in the UK, with worries about the development of a surveillance society. We are delighted to have this opportunity to carry out research that will ensure businesses and government agencies fully understand privacy concerns, and can provide effective and efficient services that properly deal with them.”
The project will look at privacy in a range of contexts. These include creating a sensor-enhanced Facebook to help understand how students might share or restrict automatically gathered information such as their location, current companions and activity. Researchers will also investigate how families share this type of information using a new mobile phone application, and how it might be used to improve the lives of children and the elderly while protecting their privacy and autonomy.
The project will look at the government’s own use of sensitive personal information in the Identity and Passport Service, and how it is interpreted by staff and passport applicants. It will also work with financial institutions to design privacy-friendly services that reduce the financial exclusion of those with limited or damaged credit histories.
Given it is sponsored by the TSB, who are doing quite significant projects in this area then I think it is is one to watch over the next few months. I feel it has some interesting tie-ins with projects such as FLAME and is going to provide useful input into the future work that JISC are looking to do on identity.
Comments
Leave a Reply