-- ​Ish Sookun - Geek by birth, Linux by choice. - I blog at HACKLOG.in. https://twitter.com/IshSookun ^^ Do you tweet? On 6/6/15 12:17 PM, Daniel Laeng wrote: > > Hi Dhiruj, > > Since you are pro data-collection, and apparently you have nothing to > hide, I'd appreciate if you could publish your passwords, bank records > and hospital records on this mailing list. We don't have a policy in > place as to what we'd do with this data, but I can assure you we'll be > looking out for your best interests. > >> Mauritius is full of data breaches > Yes, and so is the rest of the world. This is a serious problem, and a > legitimate reason to limit the collection of data. > >> However when I look at Mauritius, of how far behind the country is >> vis-a-vis the developed world, I can't help but think how education, >> the health system, legal system, general bureaucracy etc could really >> benefit from having our data recorded. > You are making a direct link between recording data and the vast > benefits you see from using the data in a postive way. I doubt that > link is anywhere near as direct as you think. > > Data collected in the EU is at least partially protected with protocols > and privacy laws. In Mauritius, I am not convinced the these policies > are mature, or there is any form of enforcement in place. > >> We have a lot of catching up to do if we want this nation to be >> intelligent, prosperous and a raised standard of living throughout our >> country. > Agreed. > >> Using Information tech with such data can have patients bodily >> functions monitored from their own homes, education could be vastly >> improved, without chance of plagiarism, monitoring students progress >> on a daily basis throughout their 9 years of schooling, thus producing >> a vastly superior education system (see Khan Academy as a broad example). > Yes there are a lot of good things that can be done with technology. > Yes monitoring systems can help in specific circumstances. No it is not > a magic bullet, and I doubt the technical expertise exist in Mauritius > to develop these things (although yes, they can be purchased from > overseas). This also has nothing to do with biometric data on the ID card. > >> Voting would be accurate (and not people in Rose Belle stealing whole >> ballot boxes, people voting twice etc), the whole country would become >> efficient through data. > So you think mass collection of personal data is a good idea in a > country where voting is not stable? > >> So let's look at our lives as it is. If you're stopped for a crime and >> you're innocent, chances are technology would have saved you rather >> than having human error/greed/corruption, condemn you. > This is called the "Nothing to hide argument > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_to_hide_argument>", and it's often > used by law enforcement. It's a fairly chilling concept for privacy, and > I disagree with it strongly. > >> All our basic needs, education, legal, health, jobs, etc, will all >> benefit from Data acquisition, starting from our personal data. > Good luck with that. Are you suggesting Facebook has improved my life > somehow, because it collects lots of data? > >> And another thing. We have no problem revealing our deepest secrets to >> Zuckerbergs' "Graph API" (re: Facebook), mapping the whole of >> humanity, segmenting all personal data acquired for systematic target >> marketing, influencing our behaviour (as zuckerberg once tried to do >> as part of a secret experiment) etc. > > Actually yes I do, and I'm not alone. The European governments have > intervened several times in Facebook's and Google's data collection. > What is the Mauritian governments track record? What are the policies here? > >> We have no problem giving banks all our personal details, or hospitals >> all our medical information. Yet all this information is kept in paper >> files or easily accessible systems. > My bank only knows about some of my financial details. My hospital only > knows about my medical information. I am under the impression that > neither my bank nor my hospital is allowed to give my details to a 3rd > party. I would like to keep it that way. > > I do not know how secure my information is in the bank or hospital, and > I'm sure it could be improved. Since I consider it reasonable for my > hospital to have access to my health data, I accept the risks that come > with that. In other countries any data breaches are treated very > seriously, and there are forced disclosure laws in place. I don't know > what the laws and practices are like here. > >> My point, at the end of this is, are we giving too much importance to >> the, so-called, "privacy" we THINK we currently "enjoy"? ... or has >> our privacy already been compromised 20 years ago? > My point is that it's a delicate balancing act. We have had much of our > data eroded in the last 20 years, and things are going to continue in > that way as data collection becomes technically easier. I think it's > important to guard our private data, and good governments are doing > exactly that. I think your "collect all data" view is rather invasive. > > The Government should not be collecting data that it cannot handle in a > responsible way. So, I'd prefer to keep my data private for now. > > Dan.Received on Sat Jun 06 2015 - 12:15:58 PST
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