PlaceSpeak Respects the Privacy of our Users

Here is the seventh—and last—installment on how PlaceSpeak is committed to the protection of our participants’ personal information and our persistent efforts in ensuring the privacy of our users.

PlaceSpeak is recognized as a Privacy by Design Ambassador. Privacy by Design is a concept developed by Ontario’s former Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, in the 1990’s, to address the ever-growing and systemic effects of Information and Communication Technologies, and of large–scale networked data systems. The goals of Privacy by Design — ensuring privacy and gaining personal control over one’s information and, for organizations, gaining a sustainable competitive advantage — is accomplished by practicing the 7 Foundational Principles.

The seventh principle focuses on respecting our user’s privacy.

Respect for User Privacy

Above all, Privacy by Design requires architects and operators to keep the interests of the individual uppermost by offering such measures as strong privacy defaults, appropriate notice, and empowering user-friendly options. Keep it user-centric.

Here is Dr. Cavoukian talking abou the importance of respecting the privacy of users:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BowtKeIIh_0&feature=youtu.be

Approach:

PlaceSpeak’s greatest impact is a robust interaction between participants and proponents in dialogue about issues of importance to our communities. To affect this impact, the PlaceSpeak platform must be user-friendly, secure and intuitive. Participants must be confident that they can freely engage and proponents must be confident in the quality of the feedback they are receiving. The interests of participants and proponents are at the forefront of our planning, developing and delivery on online engagement. As a two-sided model of engagement, we are ever-present about both of their experiences.

Example:

Every aspect of the PlaceSpeak experience, whether the user interface, the navigation, customer support, or facility with the features, is tested with users. Users have full control over their privacy options, levels of engagement and visibility settings. They can disclose as much or as little as their comfort level dictates.

Impact:

Developing a simple way for users to adjust their privacy and visibility settings according to their preferences enhances the user experience and they are more likely to continue using PlaceSpeak to take part in consultations.