Category Archives: privacy
Which is preferable: Invasive or Intrusive? (aka the Future of Canadian Census)
Back in July, when the kerfuffle over the long form census was fresh, I accused the Harper government of being disengenuous in their claims that changing the long-form census from mandatory to voluntary was due to privacy concerns over the … Continue reading
Filed under democracy, ethics, government, government information, inclusion/exclusion, privacy
Census Privacy is the Harper gov’t's Girl-Power Barbie
I’m going to go ahead and assume anyone who’s reading this blog knows about the Canadian government’s recent decision to scrap the mandatory long-form national census, and attempt to replace it with a voluntary “National Household Survey” (NHS). I’m going … Continue reading
Filed under ethics, government, government information, inclusion/exclusion, privacy
Privacy vs. Data: Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
My province, British Columbia, is one of many jurisdictions currently in the process of implementing eHealth, which is (in part) basically a large scale, provincially-coordinated implementation of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). And I’m gonna come out and say it: … Continue reading
Filed under digitization, government, Health, privacy
Librarianly committments + Privacy improvements = Facebook for me?
In my previous facebook post I said it would take 2 things to get me on Facebook (FB): trust and better terms of service (ToS, which FB now calls “Statement of rights and responsibilities”). Since then, it has become likely … Continue reading
Filed under copyright, globalization, IP, privacy, technology
Unicorns don’t exist; net neutrality is just distastefully fair
The top story on the CBC News website this evening is “Net Neutrality doesn’t exist, CRTC told.“ Laugh or cry? Internet congestion is inevitable and net neutrality does not exist, Canada’s internet regulator was told Monday at hearings on how … Continue reading
Filed under government, net neutrality, privacy, privatization, technology
The Olympic Games & Information Issues (for those who don’t live here)
Most people who live in British Columbia are well aware of the multitudinous controversies surrounding the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which will take place in Greater Vancouver & Whistler next February. However, when I talk to friends and family from … Continue reading
Filed under community development, copyright, government information, IP, privacy, privatization
What would it take to get me on Facebook?
In a word: Trust. Nearly every week, I consider making a Facebook account. I get notices about events for which the full details are on Facebook. I hear stories about people connecting with old friends. My old students and old … Continue reading
Filed under IP, privacy, technology
Free Speech and Patron Privacy are Corequisites for Intellectual Freedom
The book So you’ve probably heard about this library assistant (Sally Stern-Hamilton, aka Ann Miketa) in small-town Michigan (Luddington) who wrote a fiction book (“Library Diaries”) based upon her accounts of library patrons, and published it under her maiden surname … Continue reading
Warrentless library computer searches – what affects librarian response, and what can we learn from the news?
There have been a couple of high-profile cases this summer involving US law enforcement seeking library computers as evidence, and showing up without a warrant in hand: In Maryland, FBI agents took two computers from a Frederick County Library. The … Continue reading
Filed under Intellectual freedom, LIS education, privacy, public libraries, The Profession
DTCA 2.0 & RareShare
I know, I know, everything is “such and such 2.0” now, and it’s getting really old. I agree! However, this really is “2.0,” as direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceuticals has officially moved from being all “push” media into its own … Continue reading
Filed under Health, privacy, privatization, technology
