Profiling the mobile customer – Privacy concerns when behavioural advertisers target mobile phones – Part I

Mobile customers are being tracked and profiled by behavioural advertisers to be able to send them personalized advertising. This process involves data mining consumer databases containing personally-identifying or anonymous data and it raises a host of important privacy concerns. This article, the first in a two part series on consumer information privacy issues on Profiling the Mobile Customer, addresses the questions: “What is profiling in the context of behavioural advertising?” and “How will consumer profiling impact the privacy of mobile customers?” The article examines the EU and U.S. regulatory frameworks for protecting privacy and personal data in regards to profiling by behavioural advertisers that targets mobile customers. It identifies potential harms to privacy and personal data related to profiling for behavioural advertising. It evaluates the extent to which the existing regulatory frameworks in the EU and the U.S. provide an adequate level of privacy protection and identifies key privacy gaps that the behavioural advertising industry and regulators will need to address to adequately protect mobile consumers from profiling by marketers. The upcoming second article in this series will discuss whether industry self-regulation or privacy-enhancing technologies will be adequate to address these privacy gaps and makes suggestions for principles to guide this process.¹     

PROFILING AND POLICE LEGITIMACY: PROCEDURAL JUSTICE,ATTRIBUTIONS OF MOTIVE,AND ACCEPTANCE OF POLICE AUTHORITY*

This paper reports the results of four studies that investigate racial profiling as an attribution about police motives. Each study explores, first, the types of police behavior that heighten or lessen the occurrence of profiling attributions and, second, the consequences of such attributions. Results support prior studies in finding that judgments about whether the police are profiling are associated with the level of public support for the police. The studies then extend the analysis of subjective profiling judgments by examining their antecedents. The findings support the procedural justice hypothesis that the fairness with which the police exercise their authority influences whether members of the public view the police as profiling.     

犯罪剖绘:科学还是艺术?

犯罪剖绘(criminal profiling)为分析(连续)犯罪行为型态的技术,藉由统计技术分析潜在犯罪者、被害者与犯罪现场迹证等三者之间相互联结可能性。然犯罪剖绘技术应用至案件连结分析,可根据犯罪现场所遗留迹证(含心理迹证),预测/推论犯罪者之人口背景特征,并将这些案件之犯罪现场迹证系统化处理,建构成数据库,有助警察侦办连续型犯罪。经由案件连结分析所得证据,能否成为法庭上论罪之依据,在英美国家必须通过Frye法则与Daubert测试法则检验,即是否已经通过科学性检验,或同一学术领域同侪认可验证过程。因此,后续研究可朝更精确统计分析方法迈进,以提升案件连结分析数据库对于预测未发现犯罪者之准确率及其法庭证据力。     

The chilling effects of algorithmic profiling: Mapping the issues

In this article, we provide an overview of the literature on chilling effects and corporate profiling, while also connecting the two topics. We start by explaining how profiling, in an increasingly data-rich environment, creates substantial power asymmetries between users and platforms (and corporations more broadly). Inferences and the increasingly automated nature of decision-making, both based on user data, are essential aspects of profiling. We then connect chilling effects theory and the relevant empirical findings to corporate profiling. In this article, we first stress the relationship and similarities between profiling and surveillance. Second, we describe chilling effects as a result of state and peer surveillance, specifically. We then show the interrelatedness of corporate and state profiling, and finally spotlight the customization of behavior and behavioral manipulation as particularly significant issues in this discourse. This is complemented with an exploration of the legal foundations of profiling through an analysis of European and US data protection law. We find that while Europe has a clear regulatory framework in place for profiling, the US primarily relies on a patchwork of sector-specific or state laws. Further, there is an attempt to regulate differential impacts of profiling via anti-discrimination statutes, yet few policies focus on combating generalized harms of profiling, such as chilling effects. Finally, we devise four concise propositions to guide future research on the connection between corporate profiling and chilling effects.     

Data protection law beyond identifiability? Atmospheric profiles,nudging and the Stratumseind Living Lab

The deployment of pervasive information and communication technologies (ICTs) within smart city initiatives transforms cities into extraordinary apparatuses of data capture. ICTs such as smart cameras, sound sensors and lighting technology are trying to infer and affect persons’ interests, preferences, emotional states, and behaviour. It should be no surprise then that contemporary legal and policy debates on privacy in smart cities are dominated by a debate focused on data and, therefore, on data protection law. In other words, data protection law is the go-to legal framework to regulate data processing activities within smart cities and similar initiatives. While this may seem obvious, a number of important hurdles might prevent data protection law to be (successfully) applied to such initiatives. In this contribution, we examine one such hurdle: whether the data processed in the context of smart cities actually qualifies as personal data, thus falling within the scope of data protection law. This question is explored not only through a theoretical discussion but also by taking an illustrative example of a smart city-type initiative – the Stratumseind 2.0 project and its living lab in the Netherlands (the Stratumseind Living Lab; SLL). Our analysis shows that the requirement of ‘identifiability’ might be difficult to satisfy in the SLL and similar initiatives. This is so for two main reasons. First, a large amount of the data at stake do not qualify as personal data, at least at first blush. Most of it relates to the environment, such as, data about the weather, air quality, sound and crowding levels, rather than to identified or even likely identifiable individuals. This is connected to the second reason, according to which, the aim of many smart city initiatives (including the SLL) is not to identify and target specific individuals but to manage or nudge them as a multiplicity – a combination of the environment, persons and all of their interactions. This is done by trying to affect the ‘atmosphere’ on the street. We thus argue that a novel type of profiling operations is at stake; rather than relying on individual or group profiling, the SLL and similar initiatives rely upon what we have called ‘atmospheric profiling’. We conclude that it remains highly uncertain, whether smart city initiatives like the SLL actually process personal data. Yet, they still pose risks for a wide variety of rights and freedoms, which data protection law is meant to protect, and a need for regulation remains.     

Police Misconduct,Media Coverage,and Public Perceptions of Racial Profiling: An Experiment

The purpose of this study was: (1) to assess the impact of an incident of racial profiling on residents’ attitudes about profiling; and (2) to examine the effects of exposure to a video clip of deliberation about the incident on residents’ beliefs about the causes of profiling. All residents, White and minority, were less likely to believe that Chicago police officers engaged in profiling after the incident. These findings suggest that attitudes about the prevalence of racial profiling are susceptible to the manner in which the media construct incidents of police misconduct. Exposure to the video clip was not related to differences in residents’ beliefs about the causes of profiling, but was related to differences in perceptions of the dangerousness of traffic stops. The findings highlight the need for more research on how media constructions of police misconduct influence attitudes about profiling and impact community–police relations.     

PERCEPTIONS OF RACIAL PROFILING: RACE,CLASS, AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE*

Racial profiling by the police has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent years, but we know little about the extent of the problem and even less about public perceptions of profiling. This article analyzes recent national survey data on citizens' views of racial profiling. We find that both race and personal experience with profiling are strong predictors of attitudes toward profiling and that, among blacks, social class affects views of the prevalence and acceptability of the practice. The findings on social class point to the need for further investigation and explanation of class influences on evaluations of the police.     

Searching for direction: Courts,social science,and the adjudication of racial profiling claims

As an issue of contemporary legal and social concern, racial profiling has become part of the national discourse. As claims of racial profiling proliferate, courts are struggling to adjudicate them without sound social science research on law enforcement stop practices. This article reviews the methodological and analytical weaknesses inherent in most of the research on racial profiling and illustrates how these weaknesses have caused problems for courts in deciding racial profiling claims. It also presents a methodological strategy for curing many of the defects in previous racial profiling studies, thereby providing courts with a sound basis for deciding equal protection-based claims that often rely on statistical evidence.     

Utility validation of extraction of genomic DNA from hard tissues, bone and nail, using PrepFiler™ Forensic DNA Extraction Kit

STR profiling using hard tissues obtained from a severely decomposed body is sometimes a laborious work. There is now on a market a new DNA extraction kit, PrepFiler™ Forensic DNA Extraction Kit (AppliedBiosystems), and we tested it for missing persons. Postmortem intervals ranged from weeks to several years. Fifteen bone fragments and eleven nails were used in this report. Genomic DNA was quantified by QuantiFiler^® DUO Quantification Kit (AppliedBiosystems), and STRs were analyzed using AmpFlSTR^® Identifiler^® PCR Amplification Kit (AppliedBiosystems). The profiling of 16 STR loci was successful in all nail samples. However, STR profiling was successful in only 6 of 15 bone materials. Nine cases failed to analyze STR polymorphisms using another DNA extraction kit, the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN). For bone samples, it seems that STR profiling depends on the quality of samples.     

犯罪剖绘：科学还是艺术？

犯罪剖绘（criminal profiling）为分析（连续）犯罪行为型态的技术,藉由统计技术分析潜在犯罪者、被害者与犯罪现场迹证等三者之间相互联结可能性。然犯罪剖绘技术应用至＂案件连结分析＂,可根据犯罪现场所遗留迹证（含心理迹证）,预测/推论犯罪者之人口背景特征,并将这些案件之犯罪现场迹证系统化处理,建构成数据库,有助警察侦办连续型犯罪。经由案件连结分析所得证据,能否成为法庭上论罪之依据,在英美国家必须通过＂Frye法则＂与＂Daubert测试法则＂检验,即是否已经通过科学性检验,或同一学术领域同侪认可验证过程。因此,后续研究可朝更精确统计分析方法迈进,以提升案件连结分析数据库对于预测未发现犯罪者之准确率及其法庭证据力。     

Profiling the mobile customer – Is industry self-regulation adequate to protect consumer privacy when behavioural advertisers target mobile phones? – Part II

Mobile customers are increasingly being tracked and profiled by behavioural advertisers to enhance delivery of personalized advertising. This type of profiling relies on automated processes that mine databases containing personally-identifying or anonymous consumer data, and it raises a host of significant concerns about privacy and data protection. This second article in a two part series on “Profiling the Mobile Customer” explores how to best protect consumers’ privacy and personal data through available mechanisms that include industry self-regulation, privacy-enhancing technologies and legislative reform.¹ It discusses how well privacy and personal data concerns related to consumer profiling are addressed by two leading industry self-regulatory codes from the UK and the U.S. that aim to establish fair information practices for behavioural advertising by their member companies. It also discusses the current limitations of using technology to protect consumers from privacy abuses related to profiling. Concluding that industry self-regulation and available privacy-enhancing technologies will not be adequate to close important privacy gaps related to consumer profiling without legislative reform, it offers suggestions for EU and U.S. regulators about how to do this.²     

A study of impurities in intermediates and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) samples produced via reductive amination routes

Impurities found in various sources of precursors (sassafras oil, safrol, isosafrol, piperonal), intermediates (beta-nitroisosafrol, piperonylmethylketone (PMK)) and final product (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)) are presented and discussed. Particular attention is paid to the chemical origin of each impurity found in the prepared samples. Impurity profiles of isosafrol, piperonal, and PMK samples obtained from industrial sources or from sassafras oil were first compared. Then PMK samples produced from isosafrol through isosafrol glycol or through beta-nitroisosafrol were compared. At last, attention was paid to the reductive amination of PMK to MDMA using different reductive agents. Possible use of this profiling method to determine the synthesis route is discussed for all products.     

Profiling,Information Collection and the Value of Rights Argument

In the United States and elsewhere, there is substantial controversy regarding the use of race and ethnicity by police in determining whom to stop, question, and investigate in relation to crime and security issues. In the ethics literature, the debate about profiling largely focuses on the nature of profiling and when (if ever) profiling is morally justifiable. This essay addresses the related, but distinct, issue of whether states have a duty to collect information about the race and ethnicity of persons stopped by police. I argue that states in the U.S. do have such a duty on the grounds that such information collection would help secure the value of persons' human rights against discrimination and unfair policing. Nonetheless, a large number of states do not require it. I begin by distinguishing rights from the value of rights, and arguing that under certain conditions persons have claims to the value of rights themselves, and that states have duties to secure that value. I then turn to the issue of profiling and offer the value of rights argument in favor of information collection about the race and ethnicity of persons stopped by police.     

Patrilines,surnames, and family identity:

The Imperial decrees emancipating the serfs of the Russian Baltic provinces (1816–1820) included the requirement that serfs, who would now become free peasants and obtain legal standing, have both a first name and a surname, the latter of their own choosing. The article examines the process through which Baltic peasants obtained surnames and analyzes the choices they made. In the Pinkenhof estate, in the province of Livland, emancipated serfs most often chose surnames that reflected their place of residence, but also frequently chose names from the natural world, occupations, and other similar sources. The acquisition of surnames helped to consolidate family and lineage identity, which had been difficult in the pre-emancipation perion when individuals bore only a first name plus the name of the place in which they were currently residing, the latter changing as they moved.     

Evaluation of direct PCR for routine DNA profiling of non-decomposed deceased individuals

Forensic DNA profiling is a standard method used in the attempt to identify deceased individuals. In routine investigations, and if available, the preferred sample type is usually blood. However, this requires the invasive re-opening of the body, days or weeks after the autopsy, which is undesirable in resource-constrained mortuary settings. Motivated by the ease of sampling as well as reduced health and safety risks, this study aimed to establish the success rate of generating a full DNA profile on first attempt from buccal swab lysates using a direct PCR approach. Buccal swab samples were collected from 100 unidentified deceased males, and were subjected to direct DNA profiling with use of the Promega PowerPlex® Y23 Kit. At the time of sample collection, these individuals had been stored for between 1 and 887 days. This study shows that full DNA profiles were initially obtained from 73% of samples, which constitutes the first empirical data pertaining to first time success rates of direct PCR from post-mortem buccal lysates. Further investigation of partial and failed DNA profiles using real-time PCR showed that samples did not contain PCR inhibitors, DNA was not degraded, but DNA concentration was particularly low. Repeating DNA profiling with increased lysate input and extra PCR cycles yielded an additional six full DNA profiles, resulting in an overall success rate of 79%. Overall, DNA profile success rate was not associated with the duration of storage (p = 0.387). Lastly, massively parallel sequencing with the ForenSeq™ Signature DNA Prep kit provided more informative profiles for three additional samples. These results indicate that blood should therefore remain the sample of choice in a post-mortem setting, yet buccal lysates hold potential to be optimised further, which may ease the human identification workflow.     

Elimination of Bioweapons Agents from Forensic Samples During Extraction of Human DNA

Collection of DNA for genetic profiling is a powerful means for the identification of individuals responsible for crimes and terrorist acts. Biologic hazards, such as bacteria, endospores, toxins, and viruses, could contaminate sites of terrorist activities and thus could be present in samples collected for profiling. The fate of these hazards during DNA isolation has not been thoroughly examined. Our goals were to determine whether the DNA extraction process used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police eliminates or neutralizes these agents and if not, to establish methods that render samples safe without compromising the human DNA. Our results show that bacteria, viruses, and toxins were reduced to undetectable levels during DNA extraction, but endospores remained viable. Filtration of samples after DNA isolation eliminated viable spores from the samples but left DNA intact. We also demonstrated that contamination of samples with some bacteria, endospores, and toxins for longer than 1 h compromised the ability to complete genetic profiling.     

The methodological struggles of racial profiling research: a causal question that automobile stop data has yet to answer

Automobile stop research finds that citizen race influences officer decision-making. Researchers, however, report methodological issues inhibiting them from drawing causal inferences about the existence of racial profiling. The purpose of this study is to deconstruct this field of inquiry through a causal lens to inform the next generation of scholarship. Through an analysis of automobile stop data, temporal ordering issues are exposed. Relating to association, most studies find that racial minorities are more likely to be searched, however, spuriousness issues continue to plague racial profiling studies as researchers rarely estimate departmental, passenger, vehicle, and temporal variables. To confront these issues, researchers are encouraged to engage in primary data collection and explore recent statistical innovations in their analytical strategies.     

Post-conviction DNA testing: the UK's first 'exoneration' case?

The routine incorporation of forensic DNA profiling into the criminal justice systems of the United Kingdom has been widely promoted as a device for improving the quality of investigative and prosecutorial processes. From its first uses in the 1980s, in cases of serious crime, to the now daily collection, analysis and comparison of genetic samples in the National DNA Database, DNA profiling has become a standard instrument of policing and a powerful evidential resource for prosecutors. However, the use of post-conviction DNA testing has, until recently, been uncommon in the United Kingdom. This paper explores the first case, in England, of the contribution of DNA profiling to a successful appeal against conviction by an imprisoned offender. Analysis of the details of this case is used to emphasise the ways in which novel forms of scientific evidence remain subject to traditional and heterogeneous tests of relevance and credibility.     

A neural network applied to criminal psychological profiling: an Italian initiative

The author presents a brief discussion of criminal profiling followed by an introduction to the Italian Neural Network for Psychological Criminal Profiling (NNPCP) project. This project, based on a so-called neural network and data mining, is an innovative technique being developed with the intention of extending criminal profiling to single serious crimes through the use of a computerized database.     

Assessment of body fluid identification and DNA profiling after exposure to tropical weather conditions

Despite current advances in body fluid identification, there are few studies evaluating the effect of environmental conditions. The present work assessed the detection of body fluids, blood, semen, and saliva, through lateral flow immunochromatographic (LFI) tests, exposed to tropical weather conditions over time, also evaluating the possibility of obtaining STR (short tandem repeat) profiles and identifying mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms. Blood, semen, saliva samples, and mixtures of these fluids were deposited on polyester clothes and exposed to open-air tropical weather conditions for 1 month. The test versions from LFI (SERATEC®, Germany) Lab and crime scene (CS) used for the detection – one per each body fluid type – demonstrated that it is possible to identify body fluids and their mixtures up to 14 days after deposition. At 30 days, blood and semen were detected but not saliva. Full STR profiles were obtained from 14-day-old blood samples, and partial profiles were obtained from the remaining samples. It was possible to sequence mtDNA in the samples previously analyzed for STR profiling, and haplogroups could be assigned. In conclusion, this study demonstrated for the first time the possibility of body fluid identification and DNA profiling after exposure to tropical weather conditions for 1 month and also demonstrated the value of mtDNA analysis for compromised biological evidence.