In this episode, I’m covering some interesting topics with an expert on privacy and data issues. Specifically, we’re going to talk about privacy in its relation to transit – scooters, rideshare, etc. We’ll also talk about the potential concerns and uses of data when it comes to transportation.
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
Intro
- Today I’ll be chatting with Morgan Herlocker of Shared Streets, a nonprofit that creates open source software that makes it easier to share info with the public
- Talking about privacy and data issues related to mobility
- Eye-opening conversation for me – not a lot of people are familiar with data privacy and rideshare – Morgan is a great guest for this topic!
- Interested in learning more about driver satisfaction with Uber and Lyft? Make sure to check out our annual Uber driver survey results!
- Main product right now is our survey – learn more about it at our consulting page
Intro to Morgan Herlocker
- Morgan Herlocker is a software engineer and researcher focused on map data and privacy
- Shared Streets, a nonprofit that creates open source software that makes it easier to share information on street networks with the public
- In his spare time, he looks for privacy vulnerabilities and helps cities patch them
- His preferred mode of transportation: skateboarding!
Open Source + Collaboration
- Believes that if people have more information, we can all move more efficiently as a society
- Became interested in maps and worked on software related to mapping
- Mapping should be open source – no one entity should ‘own’ a map
Shared Streets
- Builds tools that allow people to share information about their street networks and make it interoperable between base maps
- For example, if a government has info on parking spaces in their city, this could be shared with base maps
- Funding is mixed – public and private
Privacy Issues with Open Source Data
- So much open source data out there – we need to be careful with what we share nowadays
- Currently interested in information about scooters
- Data suggests your trip data is very unique to you – only takes 4 GPS locations to uniquely identify riders
- Some cities and companies can handle managing this data – but not all, which is alarming, since some are not as well-equipped to handle this data
- Anonymization is critical – making sure data is anonymous and not based on the ‘honor code’
Uber & LA Compliance
- Uber should comply, but it’s important to get the security right
- Why does LA need real-time location data that isn’t aggregated in anyway?
- CA has a law to protect their residents’ electronic privacy
- Anyone handling this data should have basic training on trip privacy, what types of info should be protected
- Huge responsibility to collect data – legislative framework needs to catch up to this issue
Outro
- Thanks to Morgan for coming on the podcast! Fascinating information about data privacy, definitely eye-opening
- Not something many people think about when they’re agreeing to terms to use scooters, rideshare, etc. but it’s important to pay attention to
- Don’t forget to check out our annual driver survey!