From Hollerith to Holocaust? The Impact of Technology and Privacy

Rob Robinson of Complex Discovery Solutions (an EDRM partner) reminds us that technology use can cut both ways. Technology can be used in positive ways, and also in some incredibly negative ways.  January 27, 2020 was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Aushwitz-Birkenau Nazi German Concentration Camp by Soviet forces.  It was also the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.  Rob’s post honors that history and EDRM highlights the post today, January 28, 2020 for your consideration on Data Privacy Day.

Please see Rob’s post on the obligation of technology professionals to consider not simply the intent but also the impact of their creations.

Ranging from the technologies developed specifically for mass death to the technologies applied to information that accelerated the identification, separation, and subsequent elimination of discriminated against groups, technologies inappropriately applied can have catastrophic and irreversible consequences.Because of this fact, it is important that information technology, security, and legal professionals always be aware of not only the capability of technology but also of the consequences of its misuse. This is especially important in the area of data privacy where it is very easy to focus on data and regulations and forget that behind the data there are people and lives.

Author

  • Mary Mack

    Mary Mack is the CEO and Chief Legal Technologist for EDRM. Mary was the co-editor of the Thomson Reuters West Treatise, eDiscovery for Corporate Counsel for 10 years and the co-author of A Process of Illumination: the Practical Guide to Electronic Discovery. She holds the CISSP among her certifications.

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