Thanks for the interest in the questions I asked about the role of Regulators and National Authorities for Data Protection. I have been elaborating some radical ideas about this issue and pondering to prepare a short standard report to be available on demand in my AOO - 'Advice On Offer' format. The reactions observed in the last 7 days have been very useful too.

My position will take into account other topical media and information governance issues and put DP Regulations in the context of international strategies to control the so called informal or grey economies as well as cybercrime and serious organised crime aspects (deeply related to exploitation of personal data exchanged through internet and tlc networks). The final objective of my AOO report is to recommend long term DP strategies and requirements for businesses of diverse sizes and sectors. Policy makers and DP specialists in the public sector could be also interested if they want to provide services or advice to businesses. It should be available early next year. So feel free to contact me anytime for more info and expressions of interest - that will help me in deciding some pricing aspects for the report.

Having said that, I do not think it is appropriate to share the answers I received (and not because I do not want to share them due to an hypothetical major commercial reason of course). In fact outside my specific investigation context I am afraid they are not at all so significative and could contribute to make more confusion instead. I am explaining why here, if you are interested and have the patience and interest to understand more about the collection and sharing of information through internet and social media (crowd sourcing policies).

For almost 24 hours after I posted the questions via four Jiscmail lists (first to Research-Dataman mailing list, then to Data-Protection, LIS-LINK and LIS-LAW lists), I have not received any email message at all (but some spam messages).

Then I received only four messages answering my questions, a number unusually modest and non at all significative, distributed with anomalous frequency (I say so on the grounds of previous structured statistical analysis I made on networked communications but I did not make any particular analysis in this case, I would not have the means neither).

Time, intervals and content of the email messages reminded me tecniques, like triangulation, used for policing and tracking people on networks but often adopted for other more trivial applications and social engineered attacks too.

The answers seemed all purposely showing off ignorance on the points raised in a constructed and concerted way, trying to divert attention and therefore provoking more reactions and possible debates and discourses around
- an alleged need of training about DP regulations, not at all pertinent.
- A confrontational way to frame the problem.

It is also interesting to note that 5 days after my first request, we were delivered with an official document (Opinion) from the European Data Protection Supervisor that published a guidance on cloud computing. The ICO published a Guidance document on the same topic. If you have any interest in studying binding communication, manipulation and distorsion through internet and social media interactions I believe this is a very precise case history and example of what we should try to prevent from happening because such abusive and constructed modalities to provoke engagement actually create distrust and distroy opportunities of knowledge and relatiosnhips.

For the avoidance of any doubt, I do not have any relationship nor contract or special connection or friendship or interest neither with the European Data Protection Supervisor nor with the Information Commissioner's Office (so far - should they wanted to contract me as an independent consultant or supplier of ready-advice on demand I would be honoured to deliver more).

Finally, if you sent me messages that did not reach me for whatever technical may be temporary problem, please do not underestimate the problem. Report it to your technical staff and resend me the messages, together with any further detail of what happened if you wish.


Kind Regards

Brunella Longo
Information Management Adviser
http://www.brunellalongo.co.uk

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