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Mobile Web Privacy Lukas Gundermann Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein ld2@datenschutzzentrum.de. Basic Notions. Self determination with regard to personal data: The right to control who gets which personal information at which opportunity
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Mobile Web Privacy Lukas Gundermann Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein ld2@datenschutzzentrum.de
Basic Notions • Self determination with regard to personal data: The right to control who gets which personal information at which opportunity • Personal data (data relating to a person):Any information concerning the personal or material circumstances of an identified or identifiable individual (the data subject). • Data protection: Not protection of data but protection of people against unauthorised use of personal data (= privacy) • Data security: means of data protection Mobile Web Privacy - 2 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
X • With the GSM standard also: In which cell is the mobile phone located X • While a communication process is going on X • While the phone is on stand-by(?) Location Data as “Classic” Traffic Data in Telecommunication • Traffic data: Information about the circumstances of a telecommunication process • E.g.: Who called whom at which time? Mobile Web Privacy - 3 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
X • As far as it is known the telecommunication providers X Location Data as “Classic” Traffic Data in Telecommunication • Consequences: There is already the danger of creating a profile of the movement of the user • Due to the size of the cells it is only rough X • Store the location information about the active telecommunication processes(Legal competence?) • Don’t store the mere stand-by signal Mobile Web Privacy - 4 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Additional Personal Data on the Internet • With the internet (especially the www) new information emerge • Traffic data contains additional information regarding the services customers use • Without encryption that information can be easily tapped on the way through the net • More important: It can be collected at the web server, a user profile can be created(especially with banner ad companies) Mobile Web Privacy - 5 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Bringing it all together: The Mobile Web • For the intended services the location information must be much more precise • Tracking user’s movements is part of the service, this can include creating a profile • The services will be offered by third parties - There will be a greater number of recipients of data • Conclusion: A greater volume of more precise location data will be spread to a larger number of persons and organisations Mobile Web Privacy - 6 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Solutions: Consent of the Users 1 • Absolutely crucial: Users have to give their clear and unambiguous consent • It must be an informed consent, meaning that users have to be well informed about • which data will be collected, • for what purpose they will be used • when they will be deleted etc • Problem: Is there a gradation of consent? Mobile Web Privacy - 7 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Solutions: Consent of the Users 2 • Gradation of consent: Allowing some services to receive location data, others not • Data processing is limited to the consented purposes; for different purposes a new consent would be necessary • A special consent is necessary for transfer of data to third parties • Users must have access to their own personal data and profile Mobile Web Privacy - 8 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Solutions: Consent of the Users 3 • Important: Having the possibility to withdraw the consent at any time for the whole service or only for parts of it • An appropriate legal framework is necessary but not sufficient. • There also have to exist technical means for this kind of consent-management Mobile Web Privacy - 9 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Solutions: Anonymity / Pseudonymity • For delivering the service it is not always necessary to know the users identity • What is necessary is to link a profile to always the same user • There are also more or less pseudonymous or anonymous techniques of payment available • Pseudonymous profiling would also be permitted according to the German law (Teleservices Data Protecion Act) Mobile Web Privacy - 10 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Legal Framework 1 • European law: The 1997 directive (97/66/EG) on protection of telecommunication data covers location data as subspecies of traffic data • Processing of this kind of data is only permitted if necessary for the service itself or for billing purposes • A proposal for a new directive makes it even clearer: It has special provision for location data • According to that provision location data can only be processed if made anonymous or with the user’s consent. • There is one exception that needs to be discussed Mobile Web Privacy - 11 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Legal Framework 2 • German law: The 1996 Telecommunication Act (TKG) covers location data as traffic data in telecommunication • Processing is only permitted if necessary for the service or for billing purposes and some purposes that are closely connected • The 1997 Teleservices Data Protection Act covers the processing of personal data by ISPs • It applies also on the web based services that work with location data. • The provisions are alike the ones of the TKG, but in addition the Act allows pseudonymous profiling. Mobile Web Privacy - 12 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein
Conclusions • There are first steps towards a legal framework for mobile web applications in Europe , nevertheless there is still some work to be done • Most important at the time being is to develop mobile devices that give users control over their location data • It is necessary not to have only a general option but to be able to give a graduated consent and withdraw it at any time • Besides, technical means should be developed, that serve the principle of minimisation of data and allow the anonymous provison of mobile web services. Mobile Web Privacy - 13 / 13 Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein