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Ethical Analytics: The Rise of Anonymization Technology
By AJ Frazer, Chief Revenue Officer, Irisity
In this rapidly evolving age of technology, the line between innovation and ethical boundaries can be problematic. For many video analytics solutions, anonymization is not at the forefront of their creation and can cause many challenges for users and dealers. It’s more critical than ever for organizations to seek solutions that provide anonymization of video streams, enabling them to leverage the strength and security of AI-based video analytics while maintaining individual privacy.
The Ethical Dilemma
Security solutions like video surveillance have been regarded as essential for an organization’s security for many years. As technology continues to develop across all sectors, the innovative creations in the security industry have made video surveillance options more affordable and therefore, more frequently purchased than ever before. Systems that are integrated with AI-driven analytics provide more accurate data, never lose focus, and require less human intervention.
For example, video surveillance cameras can be used to protect school perimeters, students, and teachers, alert authorities and monitor traffic, but they can also be used to locate and follow the activity of individuals without their knowledge. Organizations in 2022 require robust protection, and AI-based surveillance is how they accomplish this and striking a balance between leveraging analytics while not impacting personal privacy can be challenging but necessary.
How It All Works
Video surveillance anonymization that seeks to maintain ethical usage can be applied in two different ways that enable users to comply with data protection laws. First is permanent filters that place pixels over objects in a camera’s field of view, whether vehicles, people, or sensitive locations. While the original video is not backed up or saved, the data subject’s privacy is ensured should an unwanted individual gain access to the surveillance footage. Secondly, and the more flexible option, is a liftable mask. These analytics cover specific zones or individuals to protect privacy. Still, the original data can be retrieved by specially authorized personnel such as a security leader or during a police investigation. Organizations like schools, hospitals, and public spaces must protect the personal privacy of children, patients, and the public by choosing to catch suspicious activity rather than revealing personal identity. Real-time anonymization delivers this solution.
Avoiding Fines and Complying with Regulations
In order to combat the ethical dilemma and concerns surrounding protecting personal data in video surveillance, regulations like Europe’s GDPR and the United States California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have been introduced to enable individuals to be more empowered and aware of their rights and information. However, these changes produce challenges for companies within the security industry. Breaching these regulations can generate significant fines that financially strain organizations that handle personal data. Choosing solutions that participate in anonymizing personal data allows organizations to comply with data protection laws and reduce the risk of being fined.
Security is evolving. Laws are being enacted. And people are demanding data protection more than ever before. In organizations like schools and hospitals, personal privacy is required for individuals protected by video surveillance. Choosing a solution that allows for video data anonymization stops third parties from gaining access to private data, safeguards organizations from costly fees, and, most importantly, protects and provides the utmost security for the individuals that organizations want to secure in the first place.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AJ is an accomplished and innovative senior executive with proven critical thinking and leadership skills across multiple high-tech industries. His early career in product development is complemented by 20+ years of sales and business development roles leading organizations through sales transformation. He brings a record of outstanding revenue performance with both private and public high-tech companies. AJ holds degrees in both Mathematics and Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.
