I would have loved to attend this hour-long lecture called ‘Privacy by Design’ by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian. Speaking to technologists at the University of Waterloo, Cavoukian’s main message was for developers to consider complete frameworks for protecting user-privacy. Thankfully it’s online here. She also maintains that you don’t have to give up privacy to get security. Kind of a different outlook compared to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff’s view these days.

I spend a lot of time with developers and lawyers. The technology seems to be accelerating faster than the laws and every country has different ones. When going into a major online community project, one of the very first questions that should be on the table is: what are our business rules surrounding collection of data of any kind- from personal and aggregate info to ideas and user generated content?

If privacy and security are part of the foundation of a healthy community, it’s important to have clear objectives and to have your developers present and informed at your project’s kick-off.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lecture to attend…