- [Narrator] Limiting data collection
is the most important way
that an organization can protect personal privacy.
If the organization doesn't collect personal information
in the first place, it can't abuse,
lose, or otherwise mistreat that information.
As I discussed in the last video,
the generally accepted privacy principles
require that organizations provide individuals
with notice of the information that they collect,
the ways that they will use it,
and that the obtain the consent
of individuals for that use.
This is just the first barrier to data collection.
Organizations should never collect information
that falls outside of the disclosures
that they've made to individuals,
even if it's easy to do so or seems to be
incidental to the approved purpose.
If you do have a legitimate need
to collect more information than you've disclosed,
you should revise your disclosures,
notifying individuals of the new information
that you're collecting and how you will use it.
Obtain new consent prior to collecting new information.
When you do have a legitimate need to collect information,
you've given notice and obtained consent,
good security and privacy practice
says that you should still collect
only the minimum information needed
for your disclosed purposes.
Don't collect more information than you need
and don't keep that information
any longer than necessary.
In some cases, you may find
that the technology that you use
forces you to exceed this minimization principle.
For example, you might be using
a web server that records more information
in web access logs than you need
for your disclosed analysis purposes.
When that's the case, you still must disclose
this collection to individuals because,
after all, you are collecting the information.
The difference is that if you don't
have a legitimate need to keep the information,
you should remove unnecessary information
from those records as quickly as possible,
preferably through an automated process
that doesn't require any human intervention.
The less information you keep, the better.
You also have a responsibility
to ensure that all of your data collection efforts
use fair and lawful means of collection.
Interpreting what is fair and lawful
depends upon your industry
and the laws and ethical practices that apply to you.
You should consult your attorneys
and privacy officials before beginning
or modifying any data collection effort.
The bottom line is that you should make
all of your disclosures in plain language,
make your data practices transparent,
and avoid being dishonest or deceitful.
In some cases you may obtain personal information
about individuals from third parties,
such as your business partners.
In those cases you should take reasonable steps
to ensure that the third party
is collecting that information
in accordance with privacy principles
and that the third party
has obtained prior permission to share it with you.
Be upfront with your users
about the sources of the information
that you are collecting.