Tools to reconcile European attitudes towards security and surveillance technologies
Preliminary analyses reveal that Europeans believe they must give up at least some of their personal privacy to remain secure. Governments and private entities that use security and surveillance technologies depend on this way of thinking to defend moving towards less individual privacy. The overall aim of the EU-funded PRISMS (The privacy and security mirrors: "Towards a European framework for integrated decision making") project was to re-examine this security-privacy trade-off and to explore whether there could be alternative ways to describe citizens' relationships with these two concepts. Project partners compared the most important security challenges as perceived by citizens and experts. Results show a considerable discrepancy between security policies at EU and national levels. Policies are focused on fighting crime and terrorism through surveillance technologies. The PRISMS team analysed important security technologies and practices across disciplines. Findings reveal that in most cases technology development is dominated by security thinking while privacy aspects are usually neglected or directed to other actors. A survey involving 27 000 citizens in 27 Member States provided a thorough picture of citizens' knowledge about privacy and security topics, their overall perceptions of security and privacy, and an assessment of several specific security practices. Researchers developed and tested a model of criteria and factors that affect acceptability of surveillance-based security technologies. Results show that the trade-off approach oversimplifies the existing complex relationships and is not suitable to inform policymaking. Project outcomes were used to develop and test a decision-support system. It provides users who deploy and operate security systems insight into the pros and cons, constraints and limits of specific security investments compared to alternatives that take into account a wider societal context. PRISMS findings will influence how policymakers should regulate surveillance methods. The work will also have an effect on the development of new technologies that protect both privacy and security in a way that is in line with EU attitudes.
Keywords
Security, surveillance technologies, privacy, PRISMS
