The Olympics of Privacy in Brussels!

RAFAEL MOSCATELLeave a commentData Governance, Ethics, GDPR, Information Governance, Internet of Things, Privacy, , , , , , , , , ,

Debating Ethics: Dignity and Respect in Data Driven Life, the 40th Annual Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners

Two Americans walk into a EU Privacy Conference…

Just a few weeks ago, a colleague reached out and reminded me “the Olympics of Privacy” were being held at the EU Parliament in Brussels in late October, and also if I’d like to attend. Well, how the heck am I supposed to turn down an invitation like that? After all, this is the year of GDPR, the NYDFS, the new California Privacy legislation and the ICDPPC has leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Tim-Berners Lee, Jagdish Singh Khehar and even the King of Spain all lining up to share their thoughts.

We want to stimulate an honest and informed discussion about what digital technology has done and is doing to do to us as individuals and as societies, and to consider future scenarios. We want to better understand the impact of technology on people of all generations, in all parts of the world, including the way people think, interact with others, develop their opinions, create art and write, how they buy and sell and how they participate in civic life.  – Privacy Conference Statement

Mark and Sundar are likely showing up because they realize the stiff penalties now associated with data security and privacy violations and the rest of the speakers realize that we are on the cusp of a digital and ethical revolution of sorts, one which will affect generations to come. In fact, Debating Ethics: Dignity and Respect in Data Driven Life is probably the most important privacy conference of the 21st century. My wife Abby Moscatel, an attorney and ethicist heard about this lineup and quickly said, yeah… I’m coming with you to this one!

So let’s have a look at the incredible schedule they’ve put together this year…

First, the conference is going to be opened up by Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor. Below is his speech on the state of privacy from last year. According to the program, “the Supervisor will welcome participants to the conference and set out the strategic importance of defining a truly global digital ethics to the future of data protection, privacy and respect for individuals and groups in the decades to come.”

Next, the public conference is going to be split into 3 parts: Our Common Digital Future, Right Versus Wrong and The Digital Dividend. In Our Common Digital Future, Maria Farrell will help us explore at how digital technology has brought us to where we are and gives some insights on our future, including takes on augmented reality and deep fakes. Can’t wait to explore these trends.

Maria’s discussion is followed by a keynote address by one of the pioneers and creators of the internet as we know it, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who plans to address ethics and the internet. What a great way to move onto the next discussion which will address the role of ethics in human society, directed by Anita Allen, a notable Professor of Philosophy from UPenn. I love how the EU has selected an American to make this contribution to the conference and set the stage.

OPENING PRESENTATION: WHAT IS ETHICS? European Parliament Hemicycle
Anita Allen, Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania
What is the role of ethics in human society? How has it evolved over time?  What are the origins of autonomy, dignity and respect in different cultures? Who defines ethics and whose interests does it serve? What is the relationship between ethics and law?

The next segment, Right Versus Wrong, opens with a panel of renowned ethicists and scholars who will discuss human dignity, economic interests, healthcare and interactions between humans and machines.

RIGHT VERSUS WRONG: DISCUSSION –European Parliament Hemicycle
A panel of renowned ethicists and scholars will expand the topic of ethics in regards to the notions of human dignity, economic interests, work relations, scientific progress, healthcare as well as the interaction between humans and machines.

And finally, the conference will wrap up with discussions around what organizers are calling The Digital Dividend, with a message from His Majesty, The King of Spain Felipe VI. Following that we’ll have the pleasure of hearing from Jagdish Singh Khehar, the former Chief Justice of India! Can’t wait to see this guy. The conference then will have a message from Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg and Erin Egan, followed by a second group of experts discussing technology and behavior. One of the last keynotes will be from Guido Raimondi, President of the European Court of Human Rights.

The conference is then followed by a gala at Autoworld and the next day conference attendees are treated to a special session of the EU Parliament and a lunch. If you’re attending the conference, please reach out to us because we would love to get together to discuss and share ideas and thoughts about what this brave new world might bring!

Last date to register is October 15th!

You Think You Don’t Know Enough About GDPR? You Are Right and Here’s How

RAFAEL MOSCATELLeave a commentArchives, Big Data, Data Governance, Data Storage and Archiving, Ethics, GDPR, Information Governance, Information Management, Information Security and Protection, Information Technology, Millennials, Privacy, Risk and Compliance, Search Engines,

The EU has taken the first step in protecting the data and privacy of its residents. Through the enactment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), people are now able to have the protection they are looking for online. This means changes for businesses everywhere that are planning to reach consumers in the EU.

Companies need to look at the way that they are handling the personal data of their customers and have an action plan in place to ensure their privacy is protected. Without a strong understanding of what the GDPR means and how it affects your business, you could find yourself in a situation with the EU that you didn’t count on.

Fifteen members of Forbes Technology Council discuss some of the more unexpected consequences of the new GDPR regulation. Here’s what they had to say:

1. Restriction Of Privacy And Innovation

GDPR is the latest version of Y2K compliance — long on speculation and fear, short on reality. In my opinion, regional enforcement of global technology is an impossibility and will restrict — not enhance — privacy, freedom and innovation. The result will be regions of non-compliance (GDPR havens), enormous expense and uncertainty. – Wayne Lonstein, VFT Solutions

2. Roadblocks For Blockchain Data Storage

GDPR could impact the decisions and data sets being stored and collected in emerging private and public blockchains. This may create roadblocks for companies looking to embrace blockchain to store any data that may fall under GDPR. – Aaron Vick, Cicayda

3. Opt-In Fatigue

One of the most unexpected consequences of GDPR is the wave of new regulations in jurisdictions outside of Europe, including California, New York and perhaps soon in Asia. Another unintended impact is “check the box” fatigue where opt-in consent language is presented so frequently on websites and apps that consumers don’t read the consents and just check the box, waiving their privacy rights. – Silvio Tavares, CardLinx Association

4. Poor Customer Service

One GDPR byproduct distortion or unintended consequence is excessive regulation leading to poor customer service. The pendulum has swung too far and will be moderated by citizen feedback. – Jeff Bell, LegalShield

5. Small Businesses Getting Hurt

The companies that are best prepared for GDPR are the big ones: Facebook, Google, Amazon — those that have the money to pour into their tech and legal teams for ultimate compliance. The small and medium-sized businesses, however, may be less prepared, making them more vulnerable to potential fines and penalties. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

6. The Slow Death Of Free Services

If a service is free, then your data is the product. We all love using Facebook, YouTube and the many other social media platforms. However, we fail to realize how these businesses operate. If regulations strangle business, then the alternative is a paid model. Just look at YouTube and how it’s strugglingwith its paid subscriptions. – Daniel Hindi, BuildFire

7. Talk About Similar Regulation In The U.S.

The most unintended consequence has been the multitudes of discussions about a similar impending regulation in the U.S. In fact, reading between the lines of Facebook’s testimony to Congress, it is clear to me that tech leaders realize more care ought to be given to sensitive data, and users should have more rights. They are preparing for coming regulation stateside. – Michael Roytman, Kenna Security

Read more on Forbes:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/08/15/15-unexpected-consequences-of-gdpr/#2ce5537f94ad 

BanQu - Information Governance Perspectives

Using Blockchain for the Common Good – An Interview with Ashish Gadnis of BanQu

RAFAEL MOSCATELLeave a commentBlockchain, Data Governance, GDPR, Giving Back, Information Governance, Interviews, MER Conference, Millennials, Privacy, Professional Development, , , , , , , , ,

Sixth in a series of in-depth interviews with innovators and leaders in the fields of Risk, Compliance and Information Governance across the globe.

Information Governance Perspectives - Ashis Gadnis of BanQu discusses Blockchain

Ashish Gadnis is CEO of BanQu, Inc. and a recognized thought leader in the blockchain community. He chairs the Financial Inclusion Working Committee for the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance and travels the world explaining how this revolutionary new technology is transforming the way we think about supply chain economics. He holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and graduated from the Global Leadership and Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I spoke with him this July about blockchain, business administration and professional development.

Ashish, you recently spoke at the MER conference where the theme was “Records for Humanity,” how data governance impacts the human condition. And your company, BanQu, offers a unique solution to the challenge of extreme poverty by leveraging blockchain. With BanQu, people ensure their economic identity with an immutable record of their transactions in a system benefiting the entire supply chain. But how exactly do you, your clients and big brands set about prioritizing and realizing these goals?

Over the last two and a half years we’ve realized that 2.7 billion people, that includes refugees displaced and those in extreme poverty zones, participate in some sort of a supply chain. That can mean you’re the poorest farmer in Congo growing coffee, cacao or shea butter, you know, the ingredients that go into cosmetics, and your contributions show up in brands like eight dollar lattes and expensive body lotions. And in examining this, we realized that that current models for getting people out of poverty have failed. Those models have failed because they look at the ability to help people out of poverty separate from enabling people in poverty to participate in the supply chain. And so we actually took the other route. And nobody had ever done it. We said, “What if the people who are absolutely in that last mile, if they get to equally participate?” Then the value for the brand is suddenly more relevant.

Let’s use a simple example. If you’re buying cacao in Ghana and you’re a large chocolate company, there’s a good chance today that your last mile farmers are extremely poor and also invisible. No matter much traceability, transparency or fair trade you implement, until and unless that farmer can participate in his data, to know for example “I’m selling 40 kilos every other week to this big brand,” then that farmer will continue to live in poverty. And this is kind of a long answer, but the detail is important because that poor farmer today has everything stacked against him or her, especially if conditions are so rough. I was just in Zambia a week and a half ago and I saw firsthand some of this problem, which was that women farmers have to borrow at a higher price point.

Women farmers are always at the short end of the stick because they’re not allowed in many cases to prove their history. So what happens if you happen to be selling 40 kilos upstream and there are seven middlemen… after I sell my coffee… somebody picks it up, then brings it to somebody else, the next one goes to the warehouse and eventually you’ve lost the ability to track. And while the internet has come to people in poverty it hasn’t pulled people out of extreme poverty permanently. There’s mobile money, there’s big data, AI, etc., but none of those models actually have ever allowed that mother, that farmer, to participate equally.

When I say participate equally, it’s very basic. To me participate equally means that one, she has a physical (stored digitally) copy of that transaction that nobody can ever steal or manipulate. Two, she has the ability to prove her transaction history which legitimizes her existence in that supply chain. And three, it allows her to now leverage that data in a way that reduces her cost of borrowing. It allows her to be portable. That’s how we decided to look at blockchain and nobody in the world has ever done this. People keep talking about how they’re going to use blockchain for good and we’re the only ones doing it everyday, taking a commercial approach while being simultaneously deeply purpose driven. We started a for profit, for purpose software company and now the largest brands are coming to us because it solves two sides of the problem for them. One side is that the supply chain now becomes more cost effective and efficient. They get better visibility into the supply chain in terms of quality, market access and forecasting which enables an ecosystem for crop insurance, climate protection, education. And the other side of the coin is now they can start addressing issues like gender equality, labor rights and other important issues.

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GDPR - General Data Protection Requirement - Information Governance Perspectives

Emerging From The Dense, Digital Fog – An Interview with Dr. Ulrich Kampffmeyer

RAFAEL MOSCATELLeave a commentArtificial Intelligence, GDPR, Information Governance, Information Management, Interviews, Privacy, Professional Development, Records Management, SharePoint, , , , , , , ,

Third in a series of interviews with leaders in the fields of Risk, Compliance and Information Governance across the globe.

IMG_992_kff_400x400

Dr. Ulrich Kampffmeyer is the Managing Director of Project Consult in Hamburg, Germany and a renowned expert on digital transformations, business intelligence and enterprise content management. I had the opportunity to sit down with him in May and discuss the GDPR, artificial intelligence and social issues emerging from the dense, digital fog we all find ourselves in.

Ulrich, you write and teach extensively about the cultural and social changes in work environments that are a direct result of the emergence of digital transformations. Now that data is at the fingertips of everyone…

What changes should society expect that the business world may have already?

The pace of digital transformation accelerates day by day. Cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, IoT and other developments are happening so fast that there is a danger they’ll get out of control. The mightier AI becomes the larger the danger that it gets uncontrollable.

Consider Soshana Zuboff (one of the first tenured women at Harvard Business School) and her three laws:

  1. Everything that can be automated will be automated.
  2. Everything that can be informated will be informated.
  3. Every digital application that can be used for surveillance and control will be used for surveillance and control.

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The Future of Compliance – An Interview with Professor of Financial Law Miguel Mairlot

RAFAEL MOSCATELLeave a commentEthics, GDPR, Information Governance, Interviews, Privacy, Professional Development, Risk and Compliance, , , , , , , , ,

First in a series of interviews with leaders in the fields of Risk, Compliance and Information Governance across the globe.

Miguel MairlotMiguel Mairlot is the Risk and Compliance Officer for Lombard International Assurance and a Professor of Financial Law.  I sat down with him at the beginning of the year to learn a little more about his experience in the field of Risk and Compliance and pick his brain on issues like GDPR, the future of privacy rules, the role of A.I. in “fintech” and any advice he can offer millennials looking to get started in the business.

What is it about the business discipline of Risk and Compliance that originally attracted you to the field and keeps you interested?

I spent the first 10 years of my career working in litigation, specializing in banking and finance laws. My expertise and knowledge of the MiFID regulation (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) led me to work on its implementation for various financial institutions. At that time, legal and compliance tasks were usually performed by the same department. Although I’m interested and continue working on several aspects of the MiFID regulation, I devote most of my time on issues related to money laundering and the detection of serious tax fraud in the event of repatriation of assets.

How do you think companies should approach implementing GDPR and what do you think will be the greatest challenges here?

Any company subject to GDPR should take great care when implementing the requirements set out by this new regulation. Before its entry into force, data protection was not a top priority for many European companies. Now, the paradigm is about to change, due mainly to the hefty fines which can be imposed and the potential reputation damages which may result from a violation of the GDPR provisions.

Among all these tasks, raising awareness among employees about the risks related to the infringement of the rules set out by GDPR might constitute the biggest challenge since this new piece of legislation is considered as a important cultural change in Europe.

The implementation of GDPR will require the revision of internal procedures, the appointment of a Data Protection Officer in some cases and a mapping and assessment of all the data processes, as well as contractual changes. Among all these tasks, raising awareness among employees about the risks related to the infringement of the rules set out by GDPR might constitute the biggest challenge since this new piece of legislation is considered as a important cultural change in Europe. Read More