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Late yesterday, Canada’s privacy commissioner, along with data protection authorities from France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom sent a letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt to express their concerns about privacy issues related to Google Buzz.

Are we unfairly picking on Google? Because the privacy practices we mention in our letter are not Google’s alone – they are representative of an industry-wide habit of launching first, debugging later. But Google is a world leader, and a company that has shown it is not afraid of jumping into the data protection debate. We hope that our letter sends a message to others in the online world as well – your users care about their privacy.

The full letter and news release are available on our site, but here are some excerpts:

We are increasingly concerned that, too often, the privacy rights of the world’s citizens are being forgotten as Google rolls out new technological applications.  We were disturbed by your recent rollout of the Google Buzz social networking application, which betrayed a disappointing disregard for fundamental privacy norms and laws.  Moreover, this was not the first time you have failed to take adequate account of privacy considerations when launching new services….

It is unacceptable to roll out a product that unilaterally renders personal information public, with the intention of repairing problems later as they arise.  Privacy cannot be sidelined in the rush to introduce new technologies to online audiences around the world.

We’ve asked Google for a response, but we also want to know what you think. Let us know in the comments section, or join us via webcast and Twitter (hashtag #priv2010) at our first public consultation next Thursday, April 29.

It’s also the 20^th anniversary of the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention of the Rights of the Child. A significant milestone, this made privacy a basic human right for everyone under the age of eighteen.

Privacy is a right that all young people should enjoy, no matter where they live. With today’s world being so different than it was 20 years ago, this is something they may not think much about. Today, young people are videotaped by security cameras almost everywhere they go. They are asked for their postal code or driver’s license number when they buy a pair of jeans. They can instant message, update their statuses, download music, talk to friends on Facebook and play games on their computers with people all around the world. Twenty years ago, if someone wanted to get in touch with you they had to phone you or send you a postcard!

It is so easy for young people to overlook their privacy rights and why they’re so important. And it’s easy to forget about the risks that are out there if they don’t protect their personal information. These risks can range from nuisance (all those marketers who are looking for people to target their ads to) to serious (from the people on the Internet who are looking for identities to steal, to the predators who are looking for victims). Many of them also tend to forget that when they post comments, photos and videos, online, that information is public and permanent and almost impossible to remove.

So today, on National Child Day, take a minute and remind the young people in your life, in your community, that privacy is their right. Have them look around youthprivacy.ca and click through the pages. Encourage them to find information about how they can have fun online while protecting this valuable basic human right.

Is there a young person in your life who is fixated on social network and video-sharing sites, online games and gadgets such as iPods and mobile phones? If so, you may want to take notice of the Media Literacy Week, which is taking place this week, from November 2 to 6, 2009.

This year’s theme is Media Literacy in the Digital Age, emphasizing the multiple levels of literacy that young people today need to access, evaluate, repurpose, create and distribute media content if they are to successfully navigate their digital media world.

Young people face many new challenges in this environment, but they also need to know how to protect their privacy while they are online and how to stay safe when using social networks.

This week, take a moment to familiarize yourself with all the great tools that are out there for you to share with your kids, students or other young people in your life. Here is a short list that we’ve compiled for you:

From This Office

If you haven’t already done this, spend some time on our site for young people, parents and educators, youthprivacy.ca. It’s full of tips about how young people can enjoy digital tools while staying safe and protecting their privacy. We are also featuring a video contest for 12-18-year-olds and a youth blog which discusses privacy issues that young people face. The site also features two teaching lessons on privacy (for grades 7 to 9 and 9 to 12) that were developed in partnership with the Media Awareness Network.

The Media Awareness Network

Their web site is full of valuable tools, including a Passport to the Internet, an online tutorial to help students in grades four to eight develop the critical thinking skills they need to navigate the web in a secure and ethical manner; and the Media Education: Make it Happen! program, which is a series of free resources to help educators understand and facilitate media literacy in their classrooms.

Our international partners face the same challenges and are working on various projects in order to reach youth. Check out the youth privacy web sites of some of our international partners:

Australia’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner – Whether you never think about privacy or always do, they have created a publication for you. They will tell you what some of the privacy issues are that you might face, some of the pitfalls to avoid, and who to turn to for help if your privacy has been affected.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data of Hong Kong has developed an interactive web site that aims to provide access to information regarding the execution of the Ordinance. It offers unparalleled user-friendly functions and a Privacy Zone for Youngsters that includes a few games.

The Information Commissioner Office of the UK has a youth site that is aimed at helping them protect their personal information.

YOU decide… an ingenious campaign put together by the Norwegian Board of Technology, the Norwegian Data Inspectorate and the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training. Their videos, web site and guidebooks are produced by kids, for kids.

On October 11, In 22 cities across Europe, citizens demonstrated to express their concerns over what they see as the increasing growth in government-created surveillance societies. October 11 was Freedom Not Fear Day, organized by the German Working Group on Data Retention.

In Berlin alone, over 15,000 protesters gathered in a rally that ended at the Brandenburg Gate. (The organizers have argued that 15,000 is a lowball number from the authorities, and the actual number could be closer to 50,000.) Peaceful and creative action took place throughout Europe, including art performances in Vienna, public lectures in Rome, and the construction of a collage made from uploaded photos of UK surveillance equipment and tactics in London.

From the website of the German Working Group on Data Protection:

“Surveillance mania is spreading. Governments and businesses register, monitor and control our behaviour ever more thoroughly. No matter what we do, who we phone and talk to, where we go, whom we are friends with, what our interests are, which groups we participate in – “big brother” government and “little brothers” in business know it more and more thoroughly. The resulting lack of privacy and confidentiality is putting at risk the freedom of confession, the freedom of speech as well as the work of doctors, helplines, lawyers and journalists.

The manifold agenda of security sector reform encompasses the convergence of police, intelligence agencies and the military, threatening to melt down the division and balance of powers. Using methods of mass surveillance, the borderless cooperation of the military, intelligence services and police authorities is leading towards the construction of “Fortresses” in Europe and on other continents, directed against refugees and different-looking people but also affecting, for example, political activists, the poor and under-priviledged, and sports fans.

People who constantly feel watched and under surveillance cannot freely and courageously stand up for their rights and for a just society. Mass surveillance is thereby threatening the fabric of a democratic and open society. Mass surveillance is also endangering the work and commitment of civil society organizations.

Surveillance, distrust and fear are gradually transforming our society into one of uncritical consumers who have “nothing to hide” and – in a vain attempt to achieve total security – are prepared to give up their freedoms. We do not want to live in such a society!

We believe the respect for our privacy to be an important part of our human dignity. A free and open society cannot exist without unconditionally private spaces and communications.”

In the United States, Freedom Not Fear Day was supported by a number of NGOs, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). Together, they issued a release calling for an end to watch lists and data profiling programs that fail to comply with the federal Privacy Act, the establishment of comprehensive data protection legislation, and the repeal of the Patriot Act.

But Freedom Not Fear Day was a decidedly more subdued affair in the U.S. Besides this endorsement and statement issued by EPIC, EFF and IP Justice, no other activities appear to have been scheduled to commemorate Freedom Not Fear Day in Washington D.C. Canadian activities were similarly subdued: the official website notes that a light projection was planned for Toronto’s City Hall but information on who organized it and how it turned out couldn’t be found.

Granted, the roots of Freedom Not Fear Day are in Berlin and the global day of action seems to have spread to other European capitals but it’s interesting to note that North Americans seem reluctant to stand up to the notion of “security theatre“.

Last week, an important resolution brought forward by our office was passed at the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Strasbourg, France. The resolution calls for an international effort to protect the privacy of children online.

Young people today are using the Internet to communicate in numbers that rival the telephone. The resolution stresses that while many young people recognize the risks associated with their online activities, they often lack the experience, technical knowledge and tools to mitigate those risks. In addition, they are sometimes unaware of their own legal rights. The resolution was cosponsored by data protection authorities (DPAs) from New Zealand, France, Ireland, Berlin and the United Kingdom.

The DPAs agree that a global commitment to education and increasing awareness is needed to ensure that children and young people around the world have access to a safe online environment respectful of their privacy. They are also calling on industry to take greater responsibility for protecting user privacy in the online environments they create for children.

This resolution is one more important step towards protecting our children’s online privacy. Earlier this year, in Canada, the federal, provincial and territorial privacy commissioners and ombudspersons issued a joint resolution expressing their commitment to work together to improve the state of online privacy for children and young people. In addition, the provincial Commissioners responsible for privacy are working with teachers and Ministries of Education to build information and advice into the materials presented to Canadian students. Further inroads are being made internationally as well. Ireland and the Asia-Pacific countries held video contests for kids around the issue of privacy; Spain released a booklet on privacy for parents and children; and Norway has created books and videos on the subject.

As we mentioned several weeks ago, Michael Chertoff spoke at the opening session of the 29th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners.

The Secretary of Homeland Security spoke about the tension between privacy and security, and questioned whether every step taken to strengthen national security must come at the expense of privacy? A few more details are available on the Secretary’s own blog.

Today, we finally uploaded his 30 minute speech. It’s available on video.google.ca, and we’ve embedded it below as well.

Dr. Ann Cavoukian, the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner, recently spoke to the Computer Science Club at the University of Waterloo. (video available in several formats)

Dr. Cavoukian has argued that software developers need to build privacy concerns right into their work, and her speech is receiving favourable attention online:

“… There’s something incredibly refreshing about hearing a high-ranking government official say things like, “Privacy is integral to freedom. You cannot have a free and democratic society without privacy. When a state morphs from a democracy into a totalitarian regime, the first thread to unravel is privacy.”…” (BoingBoing)

“… Privacy is really important, and watching this talk makes me realize, I have not being doing my part as a software developer to respect users privacy. Hell I log way too much information, just to make debugging a little easier on the off chance I have to debug it in production. I’d encourage all software developers out there to watch this talk, and take its message to heart. …” (Slashdot comments)

Marie Shroff, the Privacy Commissioner of New Zealand, recently spoke to the growing challenge facing privacy advocates, and the public in general, in the face of technological innovations that may erode our personal protections:

“So what do I mean by “privacy pollution”? It’s an idea I see as having some similarity to air pollution: where small blots of contamination build to form blankets of smog. In themselves, they are relatively minor – specks of soot or puffs of smoke – but in combination the effect can be overpowering. Like environmental contaminants, privacy breaches run from serious even criminal, across to minor annoyance…

The key thing is the fact that bothersome material accumulates. Yes, it is pretty insignificant to receive a piece of unwanted SPAM or yet another telemarketing call, but most people receive quite a few unsolicited and unwanted phone calls, letters and emails each week…

The overall effect is that these tiny but insidious measures combine together to shape our behaviour. Together, they contribute to a climate where private space, thoughts and choices are encroached upon and subtly eroded. We must strive to find some way not only of limiting the impact that this has on each of us, but also to find spaces in which we can be free. “

A excerpt from speech delivered by Marie Shroff, the Privacy Commissioner of New Zealand, at the Forum on Privacy and Technology in the 21st Century in Wellington.