How Competition Impacts Data Privacy

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Aline Blankertz: “A small number of large digital platforms increasingly shape the space for most online interactions around the globe and they often act with hardly any constraint from competing services. The lack of competition puts those platforms in a powerful position that may allow them to exploit consumers and offer them limited choice. Privacy is increasingly considered one area in which the lack of competition may create harm. Because of these concerns, governments and other institutions are developing proposals to expand the scope for competition authorities to intervene to limit the power of the large platforms and to revive competition.  


The first case that has explicitly addressed anticompetitive harm to privacy is the German Bundeskartellamt’s case against Facebook in which the authority argues that imposing bad privacy terms can amount to an abuse of dominance. Since that case started in 2016, more cases deal with the link between competition and privacy. For example, the proposed Google/Fitbit merger has raised concerns about sensitive health data being merged with existing Google profiles and Apple is under scrutiny for not sharing certain personal data while using it for its own services.

However, addressing bad privacy outcomes through competition policy is effective only if those outcomes are caused, at least partly, by a lack of competition. Six distinct mechanisms can be distinguished through which competition may affect privacy, as summarized in Table 1. These mechanisms constitute different hypotheses through which less competition may influence privacy outcomes and lead either to worse privacy in different ways (mechanisms 1-5) or even better privacy (mechanism 6). The table also summarizes the available evidence on whether and to what extent the hypothesized effects are present in actual markets….(More)”.

The Potential of Open Digital Ecosystems

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

About: “Omidyar Network India (ONI), in partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has undertaken a study to reimagine digital platforms for the public good, with the aim build a shared narrative around digital platforms and develop a holistic roadmap to foster their systematic adoption.

This study has especially benefited from collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. It builds on the thinking presented in the public consultation whitepaper on ‘Strategy for National Open Digital Ecosystems (NODEs)’ published by MeitY in February 2020, to which ONI and BCG have contributed.

This website outlines the key findings of the study and introduces a new paradigm, i.e. ODEs, which recognizes the importance of a strong governance framework as well as the community of stakeholders that make them effective….(More)”.

Online Mingling: Supporting Ad Hoc, Private Conversations at Virtual Conferences

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Jaeyoon Song, Christoph Riedl and Thomas W. Malone: “Even though many people have found today’s commonly used videoconferencing systems very useful, these systems do not provide support for one of the most important aspects of in-person meetings: the ad hoc, private conversations that happen before, after, and during the breaks of scheduled events—the proverbial hallway conversations. Here we describe our design of a simple system, called Minglr, which supports this kind of interaction by facilitating the efficient matching of conversational partners. We also describe a study of this system’s use at the ACM Collective Intelligence 2020 virtual conference. Analysis of our survey and system log data provides evidence for the usefulness of this capability, showing, for example, that 86% of people who used the system successfully at the conference thought that future virtual conferences should include a tool with similar functionality. We expect similar functionality to be incorporated in other videoconferencing systems and to be useful for many other kinds of business and social meetings, thus increasing the desirability and feasibility of many kinds of remote work and socializing…(More).” See also https://minglr.info/

Privacy-Preserving Record Linkage in the context of a National Statistics Institute

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Guidance by Rainer Schnell: “Linking existing administrative data sets on the same units is used increasingly as a research strategy in many different fields. Depending on the academic field, this kind of operation has been given different names, but in application areas, this approach is mostly denoted as record linkage. Although linking data on organisations or economic entities is common, the most interesting applications of record linkage concern data on persons. Starting in medicine, this approach is now also being used in the social sciences and official statistics. Furthermore, the joint use of survey data with administrative data is now standard practice. For example, victimisation surveys are linked to police records, labour force surveys are linked to social security databases, and censuses are linked to surveys.

Merging different databases containing information on the same unit is technically trivial if all involved databases have a common identification number, such as a social security number or, as in the Scandinavian countries, a permanent personal identification number. Most of the modern identification numbers contain checksum mechanisms so that errors in these identifiers can be easily detected and corrected. Due to the many advantages of permanent personal identification numbers, similar systems have been introduced or discussed in some European countries outside Scandinavia.

In many jurisdictions, no permanent personal identification number is available for linkage. Examples are New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and Germany. Here, the linkage is most often based on alphanumeric identifiers such as surname, first name, address, and place of birth. In the literature, such identifiers are most often denoted as indirect or quasi-identifiers. Such identifiers are prone to error, for example, due to typographical errors, memory faults (previous addresses), different recordings of the same identifier (for example, swapping of substrings: reversal of first name and last name), deliberately false information (for example, year of birth) or changes of values over time (for example name changes due to marriages). Linking on exact matching information, therefore, yields only a non-randomly selected subset of records.

Furthermore, the quality of identifying information in databases containing only indirect identifiers is much lower than usually expected. Error rates in excess of 20% and more records containing incomplete or erroneous identifiers are encountered in practice….(More)”.

Behavior-first government transformation

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by Deloitte: “…When experts try to explain why so many transformation initiatives fail, both in the commercial world and at government agencies, they rarely talk about habit or other human factors. It’s much easier to focus on a project’s most expensive, visible, or contentious elements, such as new technologies, process redesign, or changes to the organizational chart. But the human element can be crucial to the success of organizational transformation.

This is true when you’re aiming for transformation with a capital T, such as designing and implementing an entirely new operating model. It’s also true when you’re trying to make some aspects of an existing model work better, or when you’re trying to build a new capability. No matter what kind of change an organization wants to implement, it’s crucial to understand how the proposed changes will affect people as individuals, and what it might take—psychologically, emotionally, or politically—to make them change their behavior. After all, if people keep doing the same things in the same way, what has really been transformed?

Even when leaders understand that they need to encourage behavioral change, they often aim for that goal using strategies without a proven track record. For example, they might offer financial incentives to employees who meet certain performance targets, without clear evidence that this kind of reinforcement works in that context. What if the motivating factors that can overcome inertia in a certain situation have more to do with how employees feel about their work, or how they cohere as a community?

Fortunately, thanks to the work of behavioral psychologists and economists, as well as neuroscientists, we understand much more than we used to about human behavior and its drivers. This work has demonstrated, for example:

  • What typically motivates people—a sense of purpose, a sense of autonomy, and the ability to grow in one’s job1
  • Why people engage in “predictably irrational” behavior, and how we can harness this understanding to shape and nudge behavior2
  • How to use customer analytics and customer experience techniques such as human-centered design to drive workforce experience3

We also know that transparency can help a transformation initiative succeed. By keeping stakeholders informed about all aspects of the effort and inviting feedback, project leaders can gain insights into human motivation and behavior, and how their employees are experiencing the change, as those factors pertain to their particular project. This can help leaders understand which aspects of the transformation are working and which are not, and it helps to build trust among everyone involved.

“Behavior-first change” applies insights from a range of disciplines including anthropology, behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology to better understand and influence human behavior—and governments are beginning to apply it to their transformation initiatives. In fact, with more than 200 behavioral insights units in government worldwide, the public sector has been at the forefront of this movement. So, we’re not proposing a behavioral change approach as something radically new. Instead, we’re suggesting government agencies that might already be applying these techniques externally can systematically apply these insights to their own transformations—whether “capital T” programs or more focused efforts—to improve the chances that these programs will realize their intended outcomes….(More)”.

Encouraging Participation and Cooperation in Contact Tracing

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Lessons from Survey Research by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: “Contact tracing shares important features with the collection of survey data, as well as the taking of the U.S. Census. This rapid expert consultation suggests proven strategies from survey research that decision makers can use to encourage participation in and cooperation with contact tracing efforts along two fronts: encouraging individuals to respond to outreach from health department officials regarding participation in contact tracing and case investigation, and encouraging those who do participate to share information about people whom they may have exposed to COVID-19.

Encouraging Participation and Cooperation in Contact Tracing is intended to help decision makers in local public health departments and local governments increase participation and cooperation in contact tracing related to COVID-19. This publication focuses on contact tracing methods that involve phone, text, or email interviews with people who have tested positive and with others they may have exposed to the virus…(More)”.

Make good use of big data: A home for everyone

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Khaled Moustafa in Cities: “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic should teach us some lessons at health, environmental and human levels toward more fairness, human cohesion and environmental sustainability. At a health level, the pandemic raises the importance of housing for everyone particularly vulnerable and homeless people to protect them from the disease and against other similar airborne pandemics. Here, I propose to make good use of big data along with 3D construction printers to construct houses and solve some major and pressing housing needs worldwide. Big data can be used to determine how many people do need accommodation and 3D construction printers to build houses accordingly and swiftly. The combination of such facilities- big data and 3D printers- can help solve global housing crises more efficiently than traditional and unguided construction plans, particularly under environmental and major health crises where health and housing are tightly interrelated….(More)”.

Africa has a growing food security problem: why it can’t be fixed without proper data

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Simon Roberts and Jason Bell at the Conversation: “The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown measures have had a huge negative impact on producers and consumers. Food production has been disrupted, and incomes have been lost. But a far more devastating welfare consequence of the pandemic could be reduced access to food.

A potential rise in food insecurity is a key policy point for many countries. The World Economic Forum has stated this pandemic is set to “radically exacerbate food insecurity in Africa”. This, and other supplier shocks, such as locust swarms in East Africa, have made many African economies more dependent on externally sourced food.

As the pandemic continues to spread, the continued functioning of regional and national food supply chains is vital to avoid a food security crisis in countries dependent on agriculture. This is true in terms of both nutrition and livelihoods. Many countries in Southern and East African economies are in this situation.

The integration of regional economies is one vehicle for alleviating pervasive food security issues. But regional integration can’t be achieved without the appropriate support for investment in production, infrastructure and capabilities.

And, crucially, there must be more accurate and timely information about food markets. Data on food prices are crucial for political and economic stability. Yet they are not easily accessible.

A study by the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development highlights how poor and inconsistent pricing data severely affects the quality of any assessment of agricultural markets in the Southern and East African region….(More)”

Where are there gaps in gender data in five Latin American and Caribbean countries?

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Data2X: “This report builds on our 2019 technical report, Bridging the Gap: Mapping Gender Data Availability in Africa, but shifts the geographic focus to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

It reports on the availability of gender data in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Paraguay at the international, national, and microdata levels, and it assesses the availability of 93 gender indicators, their disaggregations, and their frequency of observation in international and national databases and publications.

Additionally, with the assistance of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), the report documents the availability of statistical indicators to support gender development plans in the five countries.

Through this report, we hope to help move the development community one step closer to producing high-quality and policy-relevant gender indicators to inform better decisions….Read the report.“

Mapping the new era of digital activism

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

About: “Over the past seven months the team at the Change.org Foundation have been working from home to support campaigns created in response to COVID-19. During this unprecedented time in history, millions of people, more than ever before, used our platform to share their stories and fight for their communities.

The Pandemic Report 2020 is born out of the need to share those stories with the world. We assembled a cross-functional team within the Foundation to dig into our platform data. We spotted trends, followed patterns and learned from the analysis we collected from country teams.

This work started with the hypothesis that the Coronavirus pandemic may have started a new chapter in digital activism history.

The data points to a new era, with the pandemic acting as a catalyst for citizen engagement worldwide….(More)”.