This week we explore the privacy risks in otherwise publicly visible information, after a dozen privacy regulators from around the world issued a joint statement on the issue of data scraping.

The regulators' statement emphasises that even personal information that is publicly accessible is subject to data protection and privacy laws, and calls out social media platforms to do more to prevent the practice.

We explore the factors behind the uptick in data scraping, and who should be most responsible for stopping it.

*** Correction ***

In the episode Jordan says 'contextual integrity' is an idea of academic Julie E Cohen's - it's not, it comes from Helen Nissenbaum, a professor in information Science at Cornell Tech. If you're interested, see Helen's book 'Privacy in Context' https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=8862. Julie does have a great article on this topic (the relationship between privacy and visibility in the networked information age), which you can read here: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/805/

Links:

Statement on data scraping https://www.oaic.gov.au/newsroom/global-expectations-of-social-media-platforms-and-other-sites-to-safeguard-against-unlawful-data-scraping

Article on data scraping statements (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/24/data-scraping-privacy-risks-joint-statement/

Determination against Clearview AI (OAIC) https://www.oaic.gov.au/newsroom/clearview-ai-breached-australians-privacy

Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com