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Leader: Data privacy - it's your problem
Everyone needs to do their bit

By silicon.com

Published: Tuesday 27 March 2007

A report out this week warns the increasing amount of personal information held by various organisations is impacting the privacy of UK citizens.

As individuals, we're handing over our personal details to more and more organisations - and it's something that many of us take for granted.

But, as the people whose information is being used, we need to take more responsibility for our data - in terms of the details we give out and who we give them to.

In many cases it's a fair trade-off, a little bit of information in return for - say - money off via a loyalty card.

At other times we hand over information without even thinking about it - for example Londoners are caught on CCTV around 300 times per day on average.

But as digital databases hold more and more information about us, we need to be more aware about who we are giving our data to and why.

Educating people to understand what their personal information is used for is critical in making sure people know the implications of their actions.

Of course, a lot of responsibility lies with organisations that hold and use this info. They need to clearly inform people what they are using the data for.

For example, if people know why CCTV footage of them is being captured and when it will be used - and when deleted - they are much less likely to be suspicious of the technology. If they are left in the dark, however, the growing number of CCTV cameras could well create paranoia and annoyance.

Everyone needs to be more educated and mindful about how personal information is used. And if individuals acknowledge the part they have to play in creating and managing their own privacy then businesses will have to take it more seriously too.