Smart Privacy

Smart Environments with their inherent abundance of sensors lead to a situation where people who are inhabiting and using such environments have less and less control over the data being collected about them. The on-going discussion shows changing views on privacy and the related issues of trust and identity. One has to observe that they are mainly a result of the tricky trade-off for creating smartness. It is becoming more and more obvious that there is an interaction and balance/ trade-off between

• being able to provide intelligent support based on collecting sensor data and using them for selecting and tailoring functionality to make the system “smart"
  and
• the right of people to be in control over which data are collected, by whom, how they are used, etc.

There is the danger that we will be moving from a situation where people considered privacy as a legal and moral right (and sometimes a socially negotiated feature) to a situation where it becomes a commodity to be traded or being paid for and thus a privilege for those who can afford it. Thus, it is necessary to provide so-called Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs).