The Way Forward - Discrimination and Privacy in the Information Society - page 328

Union is currently revising the data protection legislation. The question whether
these new proposals will adequately address the issues raised in this topic is dealt
with.
19.1 Concise Conclusion: Shifting Paradigms
In this topic, we discussed issues regarding privacy and discrimination due to data
mining and profiling techniques and provided technological and non-technological
(directions for) solutions. In this chapter, we draw some general conclusions and
discuss the way forward.
Throughout the topic, we have shown that a powerful paradigm shift is
transpiring. The growing use of data mining practices by both government and
commercial entities leads to both great promises and challenges. They hold the
promise of facilitating an information environment which is fair, accurate and
efficient. At the same time, they might lead to practices which are both invasive
and discriminatory, yet in ways the law has yet to grasp. Approaching these new
risks call for joint work of experts from both the computer science and legal
realm. This topic is a first step in this important direction.
To demonstrate this point, in this section, we will show how the common
measures for mitigating privacy concerns, such as a priori limiting measures
(particularly access controls, anonymity and purpose specification) are mechanisms
that are increasingly failing solutions against privacy and discrimination issues in
this novel context. We argue that a focus on (a posteriori) accountability and
transparency may be more useful. This requires improved detection of
discrimination and privacy violations as well as designing and implementing
techniques that are discrimination-free and privacy-preserving. In Section 19.2 we
will focus on further research (particularly technological research) in this field.
In the future, there may be new situations and mechanisms through which
discrimination and privacy violations may take place. Therefore we discuss the
future of discrimination in Section 19.3 and the future of privacy in Section 19.4. In
Section 19.3, we discuss two very different forms of discrimination-based problems
which might arise in the future. First, novel predictive models can prove to be no
more than sophisticated tools to mask the "classic" forms of discrimination, by
hiding discrimination behind new proxies. Second, discrimination might be
transferred to new forms of population segments, dispersed throughout society and
only connected by some attributes they have in common. Such groups will lack
political force to defend their interests. They might not even know what is
happening. In Section 19.4 we will discuss the future of privacy and data protection
and the adequacy of the current legal framework regarding these new technological
developments. The European Union is currently revising the data protection
legislation. The question whether these new proposals will address these issues
raised in this topic effectively will be dealt with.