Heike Norris, our head of International Data Governance, gave a brief introduction, which included quoting from a 2014 Bank of America consumer survey which found that most Millennials deem mobile phones more important than deodorant and a toothbrush! She then welcomed the first panellist Richard Cumbley, a partner in Linklaters law firm. Richard put forward a consumer view of profiling, using a bag of chocolate chip cookies most effectively. Sophie Crosby, Ticketmaster’s VP of International Live Insight, followed and discussed profiling from a commercial perspective reminding us that profiling has been used for years, is nothing new only more sophisticated.
Stephen McCartney, Director of Information Governance and Data Protection Officer at Royal Mail, gave a personal viewpoint on the profiling undertaken by public organisations. Profiling by the police and national governments for example, is always justified and in individuals’ interests – isn’t it? Jon McLeod, Chairman at Weber Shandwick, was the last of the panellists. He asked whether consumers really cared about their privacy? Or do ‘smartphones make dumb people’? Should we be ready for a citizen’s revolt on data or just go back to doing business face to face?
A lively debate amongst the privacy professionals, clients and employees followed before Heike closed the panel and concluded that there is no simple answer as to whether profiling is a dirty data concept. There are several shades of grey [at least 50!].
At Ticketmaster, we are very conscious of our unique reach and distribution that gives us such an exceptional insight into our fans. The protection of our customer, client and client customer information is a core part of our business therefore and something we’re naturally very passionate about. We have a team of data governance and information security experts responsible for managing our compliance with our legal obligations. However, we don’t consider it to be just their responsibility, we believe that everyone at Ticketmaster plays a role in safeguarding the handling of personal information.
