Timothy Kariotis

Data governance by design: a new recipe for our data-driven future

Lecture date: 16 July 2020

Privacy law is like a cake recipe that only tells you what not to include. It tells you nothing about what makes a good cake, and whether what makes a good cake is different over time and context. Some of the most significant data sharing fails have been 110% compliant with relevant privacy law; they’ve followed the recipe to a tee. So, why do they fail? Tim’s talk will step beyond the legal view of privacy to explore several sociological and critical perspectives on privacy. He will explore how we can design for privacy, when privacy is steeped in societal and relational norms and wound up in invisible power structures.

Going a step further, Tim will outline how designing for data governance is essential to designing for privacy, especially if we are to harness the great opportunities that a data-driven society promises. Tim’s talk will draw on several examples from across healthcare, smart cities, and the social services to understand why the current ‘hidden’, but hegemonic model of data governance is failing communities, businesses and society. Tim will leave participants feeling optimistic about the future of data governance, and privacy by design, by exploring emerging models of data governance that bring more voices to the table to ensure the value of data is a value that is shared by all. 

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About the speaker

Timothy Kariotis pic

Timothy Kariotis is a storyteller, researcher, teacher and advocate, with a fiery passion for ensuring our information-driven world is equitable and just. With years of experience advocating, researching and thinking about the intersection of digital health and the mental health system, Tim has developed a critical perspective on privacy that aims to challenge hegemonic ideas of knowledge management, data processing and data governance. Tim is currently a Research Fellow in Regulation & Design at the Melbourne School of Government where he is working on projects related to smart cities, health data governance, regulatory sandboxes and wage theft. Tim is also in the final years of a PhD in Engineering at the Melbourne School of Computing and Information Systems. Tim’s PhD draws together concepts from privacy, participatory design, mad studies and information system design to rethink information sharing in the mental health system. Tim’s passion for his works stems from his experience as a carer/supporter of a family member diagnosed with a complex mental health condition, and the challenges of information sharing they experienced in the health system.  

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Photo: Lianhao Qu (Unsplash)