Data Ethics Club meeting 28-07-21, 13.00 UK time#

Meeting info#

Description#

You’re welcome to join us for our next Data Ethics Club meeting on Wednesday the 28th July at 13.00 UK time. You don’t need to register, just pop in. This time we’re going to watch or listen to (both available - audio at the top) The Rise of Private Spies by author and journalist Charlie Savage, which is an article about private spy agencies and the role of public and private data, summarising two books on the topic. If you cannot access the article for any reason, please email us.

Thank you to Huw Day for suggesting this week’s content.

Discussion points#

There will be time to talk about whatever we like, relating to the content, but here are some specific questions to think about while you’re reading:

  • In what circumstances is it ethical for publicly available data (e.g. from social media, Google maps) or leaked or hacked data to be used to create intelligence reports?

  • How reliable are the kinds of social media data that Bellingcat are using? Could digital evidence be faked or planted?

  • What are the implications of police departments working with private investigators who use these methods?