Post by Banker on Apr 13, 2013 8:09:48 GMT 7
THE federal government is urging its departments to mine the vast realms of personal data stored on Facebook, Twitter and Google to deliver "personalised" services and detect fraud.
In a move that could threaten the privacy of Australians, the government's own information management office said departments - including Centrelink, the Australian Tax Office and Medicare - could be buying data from social networking sites to help track down welfare and tax cheats and improve their productivity.
In its Big Data Strategy issues paper, the government said its departments needed to embrace the opportunities that analysing both the private data available on social networks, and the ever-increasing wealth of data already being collected by governments, could deliver.
But it admits such a strategy will have clear ethical, privacy and security concerns that will need to be "carefully considered".
"Private sector organisations such as Google, Twitter and Facebook hold enormous data stores on Australian citizens and people across the world, and offer access to these on commercial terms. While needing to carefully consider the veracity of this data, it may be that agencies could consider using this data as part of big data analytics projects," the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) issues paper says.
"The ethical, privacy and security implications of decisions such as these will need to be carefully considered."
"More effective use of big data for predictive analysis will allow government agencies to better assess risk and feasibility, and detect fraud and error."
The issues paper claims "Big Data Analytics" - which cross-references data compiled from various agencies, companies and social networks - will allow departments to deliver more personalised services "tailored to meet citizens' needs and preferences". "For example, the identification of individuals or groups who are eligible for certain entitlements without the need for them to be aware of or explicitly apply for that benefit."
But despite any social benefits and promises of streamlined services, the use of data from social networks will ignite a fierce debate about the privacy rights of citizens.
"This presents a huge opportunity for agencies like Centrelink. As we know, some employees take a sickie and post they are at the footy on their Facebook page and forget one of their bosses is their friend," PriceWaterhouse Coopers' national digital leader John Riccio said.
"It is no different to Centrelink having this opportunity of being able to monitor individuals who they think may be fraudulent and can prove it through the use of data. It becomes an issue whether they have the right to use it because it really is no different to a phone tap."
Evan Stubbs, chief analytics officer for SAS Australia, said the biggest challenge was how citizens managed privacy in an increasingly digitised world.
"We have a long way to go to sorting out what that (privacy) framework should look like, especially around public-private sector information sharing," he said.
But it's a debate in which AGIMO is yet to formulate an argument. "Exactly what this all looks like and how we reconcile that with privacy is something we really need to work through," Marc Vickers, from AGIMO, said.
www.theaustralian.com.au/news/catching-fraudsters-by-using-facebook/story-e6frg6n6-1226619439056
In a move that could threaten the privacy of Australians, the government's own information management office said departments - including Centrelink, the Australian Tax Office and Medicare - could be buying data from social networking sites to help track down welfare and tax cheats and improve their productivity.
In its Big Data Strategy issues paper, the government said its departments needed to embrace the opportunities that analysing both the private data available on social networks, and the ever-increasing wealth of data already being collected by governments, could deliver.
But it admits such a strategy will have clear ethical, privacy and security concerns that will need to be "carefully considered".
"Private sector organisations such as Google, Twitter and Facebook hold enormous data stores on Australian citizens and people across the world, and offer access to these on commercial terms. While needing to carefully consider the veracity of this data, it may be that agencies could consider using this data as part of big data analytics projects," the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) issues paper says.
"The ethical, privacy and security implications of decisions such as these will need to be carefully considered."
"More effective use of big data for predictive analysis will allow government agencies to better assess risk and feasibility, and detect fraud and error."
The issues paper claims "Big Data Analytics" - which cross-references data compiled from various agencies, companies and social networks - will allow departments to deliver more personalised services "tailored to meet citizens' needs and preferences". "For example, the identification of individuals or groups who are eligible for certain entitlements without the need for them to be aware of or explicitly apply for that benefit."
But despite any social benefits and promises of streamlined services, the use of data from social networks will ignite a fierce debate about the privacy rights of citizens.
"This presents a huge opportunity for agencies like Centrelink. As we know, some employees take a sickie and post they are at the footy on their Facebook page and forget one of their bosses is their friend," PriceWaterhouse Coopers' national digital leader John Riccio said.
"It is no different to Centrelink having this opportunity of being able to monitor individuals who they think may be fraudulent and can prove it through the use of data. It becomes an issue whether they have the right to use it because it really is no different to a phone tap."
Evan Stubbs, chief analytics officer for SAS Australia, said the biggest challenge was how citizens managed privacy in an increasingly digitised world.
"We have a long way to go to sorting out what that (privacy) framework should look like, especially around public-private sector information sharing," he said.
But it's a debate in which AGIMO is yet to formulate an argument. "Exactly what this all looks like and how we reconcile that with privacy is something we really need to work through," Marc Vickers, from AGIMO, said.
www.theaustralian.com.au/news/catching-fraudsters-by-using-facebook/story-e6frg6n6-1226619439056
