Opportunities and risks: the freedom of information & data protection implicationsof open data

-Local and National Government Open Data across Europe Conference

Steve Wood, Head of Policy Delivery, Information Commissioner’s Office

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION & OPEN DATA

●FOI – access to information – right to request information and obligation on public bodies to publish – any information, regardless of structure ●Drivers traditionally transparency, accountability and democratic participation

●Open data – right of access to datasets and obligations to publish – open formats and right to re-use●Reinforces traditional drivers but also new drivers – choice in public services and economic growth

●Open data not a replacement for FOI – a valuable enhancement

FOI

Open data

Open data

FOI

FOIOpen data

OPEN DATA –MAKING IT HAPPEN● Building on FOIA and joining up converging legal issues on re-use

●Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 amendments to FOIA commencing 2013

● Moving from a compliance culture to a more open culture – regulation alone is not enough

●Access by Design and sustainability

●Evidence of benefits

● The balance between push and pull

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PRIVACY CHALLENGES

●Importance of public trust and transparency about anonymisation

●Assessing risk of identification and anonymising datasets – how to assess risk? acceptable levels of risk?

●Importance of a Privacy by Design approach

●Skills and knowledge needed to anonymise

●Fairness of disclosing some datasets which do identify e.g. Court data

ICO CODE OF PRACTICE ON ANONYMISATION

●Issued under the Data Protection Act

●Consultation closed 23 August, final Code November 2012

●Relevant to public and private sector

CODE OF PRACTICE OVERVIEW

●Benefits of anonymisation

●Anonymisation and personal data

●Ensuring the effectiveness of anonymisation

●Personal data and spatial information

●Anonymisation and other reasons for withholding

●Publication and limited disclosure

●Governance

●The DPA research exemption

●Worked examples and definitions of techniques

ANONYMISATION NETWORK

●Professional network for sharing information and best practice about anonymisation

●Encourage the exchange of information about the strengths and weaknesses of the various anonymisation techniques available to researchers and others.

●Network website, membership, events, case studies

●ICO funding for 2 years

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