From Bigger to Better Data Practices: Ranking Tech Companies on Privacy

Session at MyData 2016, an international conference that focuses on human centric personal information management.

Trust is the hot topic in personal data management. All platform providers and organizations want people to trust them with their sensitive data and personal information, but what makes a platform trustworthy? What are the building blocks of trust? How adept are people at evaluating trustworthiness in current models? How could trustworthiness be more clearly and accurately communicated?

Private technology companies hold great power over user data that they process as we knowingly or unknowingly use their services. They decide on what kind of data they collect, how long they store it and how they keep it secure. They also decide on how to respond if others, including governments, request that data, as well as if they give individuals full autonomy over what happens with their data. Nevertheless, there is little insight into how companies actually treat users’ data. Ranking Digital Rights has developed a methodology that sets standards to which companies should adhere should they wish to hold themselves accountable on their policies and practices related to privacy and freedom of expression. During this session, we will discuss what improvements companies companies should make in how they treat user data. I will use results from the Ranking Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index (rankingdigitalrights.org/index2015), which evaluated 16 of the world’s most powerful Internet and telecommunications companies, to lead that discussion.