STARSET_MirrorEXCLUSIVE: Personal Consumer Data Profile
By Rhodilee Jean A Dolor
Search engine giant Google agreed in May to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that it violated an Illinois law designed to protect consumer biometrics data.
今年5月，搜索引擎巨头谷歌同意就一起集体诉讼达成和解，该诉讼指控谷歌违反了伊利诺伊州一项旨在保护消费者生物识别数据的法律。
The law called Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) requires companies to first secure permission before collecting people’s data such as fingerprints and facial scans. It also mandates companies to safeguard the collected information and bars them from selling these data.
这项名为《生物特征信息隐私法》(BIPA)的法律要求公司在收集人们的指纹和面部扫描等数据之前首先获得许可。它还要求公司保护收集到的信息，并禁止它们出售这些数据。
Better and Targeted Services for Consumers
为消费者提供更好、更有针对性的服务
Over the course of 14 years since the law was passed in 2008, new technologies emerged, which enabled companies to easily harvest data from consumers. By collecting users’ fingerprints, facial scans, location data and visited links, apps and technologies enable companies to provide more targeted and better services to consumers.
自2008年该法通过以来的14年里，新技术不断涌现，使公司能够轻松地从消费者那里获取数据。通过收集用户指纹、面部扫描、位置数据和访问链接，应用程序和技术使企业能够为消费者提供更有针对性、更好的服务。
Some smart TVs now have a built-in camera that uses facial recognition to detect who is watching. From there, the set directs the person to the shows that he likes giving a more personalized experience to the user.
现在一些智能电视有内置摄像头，可以通过面部识别来检测谁在看电视。从那里，布景引导人们到他喜欢的节目，给用户一个更个性化的体验。
Financial institutions also use facial recognition to prevent fraud and theft. If you are a new customer, your bank may require you to take a selfie on your phone. The image should match the photo in the government ID that you submitted to authenticate your identity.Phones, tablets and computers also collect fingerprint data to provide users with a more convenient way to unlock their gadgets and access features and services.
金融机构也使用面部识别技术来防止欺诈和盗窃。如果你是新客户，你的银行可能会要求你用手机自拍。图片必须与您提交的用于身份验证的政府ID中的照片相匹配。手机、平板电脑和电脑也会收集指纹数据，为用户解锁设备、使用功能和服务提供更方便的方式。
Tracking and data collection have a range of applications for consumers. The weather app on mobile phones can forecast whether it will be a sunny or a rainy day based on the user’s local conditions.
跟踪和数据收集对消费者有广泛的应用。手机上的天气应用程序可以根据用户的当地情况预测天气是晴天还是雨天。
Fast food apps tell consumers where to find their nearest stores and dating apps help people find potential dates in their area. Apps used for driving directions, shopping, fitness, and search also rely on location data.
快餐应用程序告诉消费者在哪里可以找到离他们最近的商店，约会应用程序帮助人们在他们所在的地区找到潜在的约会对象。用于开车指路、购物、健身和搜索的应用程序也依赖于位置数据。
Location tracking apps can be particularly helpful. In April, a woman from Georgia found her 9-year-old son who was inside her stolen car using Find my iPhone, an app that uses location data.
位置跟踪应用程序尤其有用。今年4月，一名来自乔治亚州的妇女使用“找到我的iPhone”(Find my iPhone)应用程序找到了她9岁的儿子，他坐在她偷来的车里。
“Ms. Moore was able to track her son’s iPhone using ‘my location’ and relay real time tracking information to officers. Atlanta Police with the assistance of Georgia State Patrol (GSP), Fulton County PD and the Fulton County Sheriff’s responded and used the tracking information to work at locating the vehicle,” the Atlanta Police Department said.
“摩尔女士能够通过‘我的位置’追踪她儿子的iPhone，并将实时跟踪信息传递给警察。亚特兰大警方在乔治亚州巡逻队(GSP)、富尔顿县警局和富尔顿县警长的协助下做出了回应，并利用追踪信息确定了车辆的位置。”
Goldmine
回报
Data collection is now a lucrative industry, companies have started selling the information they collect to third parties like advertisers and even law enforcers.
数据收集现在是一个利润丰厚的行业，公司已经开始把他们收集的信息卖给第三方，比如广告商，甚至执法人员。
Analyzing consumer data allows companies to better understand their target market so they can create appealing and more sellable products and services.
通过分析消费者数据，公司可以更好地了解他们的目标市场，从而创造出更有吸引力、更畅销的产品和服务。
“Advanced analytics are making it possible to more accurately predict future consumer behaviors and to use that analysis to strengthen relationships with those customers,” explained Harry Glaser, co-founder of data analytics firm Periscope Data, which was bought by business intelligence software company Sisense in 2019.
数据分析公司Periscope data的联合创始人哈利·格拉泽解释说:“先进的分析使更准确地预测未来的消费者行为成为可能，并利用这种分析加强与这些客户的关系。”Periscope data于2019年被商业智能软件公司Sisense收购。
“By combining machine learning models with modern data analysis platforms, companies are quickly able to identify their high-value customers and dynamically improve their experiences on the fly based on data in real time.”
“通过将机器学习模型与现代数据分析平台相结合，公司能够快速识别高价值客户，并基于实时数据动态改进他们的体验。”
In 2021, the size of the global location intelligence market is already worth $14 billion. It is projected to grow more at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6% from 2022 to 2030.
到2021年，全球位置智能市场的规模已经达到140亿美元。预计从2022年到2030年，中国经济将以15.6%的复合年增长率增长。
The same scenario is seen in the global facial recognition market, which is worth $5.01 billion in 2021. Amid growing demand, the industry is forecasted to be worth $12.67 billion by 2028.
2021年全球面部识别市场的规模将达到50.1亿美元，也将出现同样的情况。随着需求的增长，预计到2028年，该行业的价值将达到126.7亿美元。
Risks
风险
Despite the many beneficial uses of consumer data, collection, sharing and sale of consumer information bring about privacy and security issues.
尽管消费者数据有许多有益的用途，但收集、共享和销售消费者信息会带来隐私和安全问题。
A 2021 report by Justin Sharman, a cyber policy fellow at Duke University’s Technology Policy Lab, reveals that data brokers have no qualms selling sensitive information of millions of Americans, which exposes consumers to serious risks.
杜克大学技术政策实验室网络政策研究员贾斯汀·沙曼(Justin Sharman) 2021年的一份报告显示，数据经纪人毫无顾忌地出售数百万美国人的敏感信息，这让消费者面临严重风险。
“Data brokers are openly and explicitly advertising data for sale on U.S. individuals’ sensitive demographic information, on U.S. individuals’ political preferences and beliefs, on U.S. individuals’ whereabouts and even real-time GPS locations, on current and former U.S. military personnel, and on current U.S. government employees,” the report reads.
报告称:“数据经纪人公开、明确地为出售美国个人的敏感人口统计信息、美国个人的政治偏好和信仰、美国个人的行踪甚至实时GPS定位、现任和前任美国军事人员以及现任美国政府雇员的数据做广告。”
“People-search websites aggregate public records on individuals and make it possible for anyone to search for major activist figures, senior military personnel, and other individuals—uncovering home address, phone number, and other information as well as the names of known family members and relatives.”
“寻人网站汇集了个人的公共记录，使任何人都可以搜索重要的活动人士、高级军事人员和其他个人——揭露家庭地址、电话号码和其他信息，以及已知的家庭成员和亲属的名字。”
In a lawsuit filed against location data broker Kochava, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claimed that the company sold the geolocation on millions of smartphones, exposing people’s visits to sensitive locations like medical facilities, places of worship and domestic violence shelters and addiction recovery centers.
美国联邦贸易委员会(FTC)在一份针对位置数据中介公司科查瓦(Kochava)的诉讼中称，该公司向数百万部智能手机出售地理位置信息，暴露了人们访问医疗设施、礼拜场所、家庭暴力庇护所和戒毒中心等敏感地点的信息。
“The FTC alleges that Kochava fails to adequately protect its data from public exposure. Until at least June 2022, Kochava allowed anyone with little effort to obtain a large sample of sensitive data and use it without restriction,” the FTC said.
FTC指控Kochava未能充分保护其数据不被公开。至少在2022年6月之前，科查瓦允许任何人不费多大力气就能获得大量敏感数据样本，并无限制地使用。”
Pushing Back
推迟
A slew of other lawsuits ensued amid increased use of consumer data. In May, Facebook started paying claimants of a $650 million settlement stemming from a lawsuit accusing the social media company of collecting and storing users’ biometric data without consent.
随着消费者数据使用的增加，随之而来的还有一系列其他诉讼。今年5月，Facebook开始向原告支付6.5亿美元的和解金，该诉讼指控这家社交媒体公司未经用户同意收集和存储用户的生物特征数据。
The video sharing app TikTok was also slapped with a similar lawsuit for collecting biometric data from users and then disclosing these to third party companies without the consent of those affected.
视频分享应用程序TikTok也因为从用户那里收集生物特征数据，然后未经受影响者的同意将这些数据透露给第三方公司而遭到了类似的诉讼。
In the class suit filed against Google, the plaintiffs accuse the tech giant of violating their state’s BIPA when it collected, stored and organized their pictures as part of the Google Photos Face Grouping feature sans their proper notice and consent.
在对谷歌提起的集体诉讼中，原告指控这家科技巨头在没有事先通知和同意的情况下，将他们的照片作为谷歌照片面部分组功能的一部分收集、存储和组织，违反了他们所在州的BIPA。
All three cases were filed in Illinois by residents who invoked the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, arguably the strictest law in the US for protecting people’s biometrics data.
这三起案件都是由伊利诺斯州的居民提起的，他们援引了该州的《生物特征信息隐私法》(Biometric Information Privacy Act)，这可以说是美国在保护人们生物特征数据方面最严格的法律。
The favorable court decisions and settlements for these three cases suggest that while the risk of data exposure still exists, there is a way to push back against companies that may take advantage of people’s personal data.
对这三起案件有利的法院判决和和解表明，尽管数据泄露的风险仍然存在，但仍有办法阻止可能利用人们个人数据的公司。
Consumers will be able to appreciate the perks of data-based technologies when authorities come up with sound policies designed to protect people’s sensitive information.
当当局制定出旨在保护人们敏感信息的健全政策时，消费者将能够欣赏到基于数据的技术的好处。
