According to a report by the Royal Society, the National Health Service (NHS) and other public sector institutions should take the lead in testing Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) that can enable access to crucial data without compromising privacy.
The report, which focuses on the readiness of the public sector for PETs, highlights the potential benefits of better data use in areas such as cancer research and reducing carbon emissions. PETs include new forms of encryption and synthetic data that can reduce risks associated with data use.
The report recommends that public bodies work with small and medium-sized enterprises to promote these technologies, and for the UK government to develop a national strategy for the responsible use of PETs. This strategy should promote the use of data for the public good by setting common standards for PETs, and offering incentives such as bursaries and prizes to encourage the development of a market for their use.
“PETs are already revolutionizing the way data is used, from enabling greater cross-analysis between organizations to fuelling AI in medical diagnostics,” the researchers explain. “But public trust is a fundamental component of responsible data use and can be easily undermined through hasty implementation or poor communication.”
Data custodians
The report builds upon the society’s previous publication in 2019 on protecting privacy in practice. The report notes that PETs should not only be used by private sector organizations, but also in cross-sector data partnerships for collaborative analysis to benefit the public.
Healthcare is identified as a key area where PETs could have a significant impact. With advances in medical technology and comprehensive electronic patient records in the NHS, the UK has the potential to conduct timely and impactful health research and improve treatments, track public health risks, and save lives.
The report states that there is a strong desire across the public sector to make better use of national data for innovation, policy-making, and service improvement. For instance, combining privacy-enhanced AI with medical imaging data could aid in detecting cancer.
However, the report notes that few organizations, particularly in the public sector, are currently prepared to experiment with new methods of storing, using, and sharing sensitive data.
Going forward
The report examines several scenarios in which data use can be vulnerable and illustrates how Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) can offer solutions. These technologies, if properly understood and regulated, can help maximize the value of data while addressing potential risks to privacy, data rights of individuals, commercial advantage of businesses, and national security.
They are not complete solutions to data protection problems, but rather provide new tools for creating responsible data governance systems. In addition to changes in business and policy frameworks, PETs can help establish ethical, legal and responsible data partnerships for collaborative analysis, enabling access to the value of data without compromising data rights.
There are various areas that can benefit from the adoption of PETs, such as biometric data for health research and diagnostics, increasing safe access to social media data and accountability on social media platforms, enhancing privacy in the Internet of Things and digital twins, collective intelligence, crime detection, and voting in digital governance, and PETs in crisis situations and analysis of humanitarian data.
“The appropriate use of Privacy Enhancing Technologies allows more use of data while reducing the risks of breaches of confidentiality,” the researchers conclude. “But before any of these technologies can be used safely, the UK Government needs to set out clear legal and ethical standards to allow the public sector the confidence to use data to its full potential.”
