The Humanitarian Metadata Problem: “Doing no harm” in the digital era
Organization(s): ICRC, Privacy International
Author: Ailidh Callandar, Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion, Dr Gus Hosein, Dr Tom Fisher, Ed Geraghty, Tina Bouffet
Year: 2018
Language: English
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New technologies continue to present great risks and opportunities for humanitarian action. To ensure that their use does not result in any harm, humanitarian organisations must develop and implement appropriate data protection standards, including robust risk assessments. However, this requires a good understanding of what these technologies are, what risks are associated with their use, and how we can try to avoid or mitigate them. The following study tries to answer these questions in an accessible manner. The aim is to provide people who work in the humanitarian sphere with the knowledge they need to understand the risks involved in the use of certain new technologies. This paper also discusses the “do no harm” principle and how it applies in a digital environment.
Related Principles
The implementation of social protection schemes requires collecting many types of information including that identifying beneficiaries and their dependants or carers, earnings, employers, contact details, and more. It is essential that the collection of such information is done without breaching the right to privacy. In this regard, personal information should be kept private and free […]