HC 245 - Responsible use of data

• Author(s): Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Science and Technology,
• Publisher: The Stationery Office
• Pages: 41
• ISBN_10: 021507887X
  ISBN_13: 9780215078872
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Science / General ,

Description:... Facebook's experiment with users emotions highlighted serious concerns about the extent to which, ticking the terms and conditions box, can be said to constitute informed consent when it comes to the varied ways data is now being used by many websites and apps. Most people click yes to terms and conditions contracts without reading them, because they are often laughably long and written in legalese that can be difficult to understand. Socially responsible companies wouldn't want to confuse their users and should be happy to sign up to new guidelines on clear communication and informed consent. A line also needs to be drawn between the information that apps actually need to provide a service and the kind of personal information they often request when registering new users, information that is becoming increasingly valuable in our networked society. It is vital that companies effectively communicate how they intend to use personal data collected from users of services and if terms and conditions cannot be made easier to understand then this must be explained separately. This report suggests that an internationally recognised Kitemark could be the first step in ensuring the responsible use of UK citizens' data. The Government must also audit all public sector online services and ensure that they provide easy to understand information about their own usage of personal data. The Government must learn lessons and develop a privacy impact assessment for policies that collect, retain or process personal data