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How can governments persuade their citizens they are safeguarding their personal data? Photograph: Alamy
How can governments persuade their citizens they are safeguarding their personal data? Photograph: Alamy

How do you feel about the government sharing our personal data? - livechat

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We may want efficient government – but not if it means sharing more information. Join our livechat on this paradox, 12:30-2pm, BST, 30 March 2017

In October 2016, the digital economy bill began its progress through the UK parliament, including, as a Guardian editorial noted, a big shift: when it becomes law, the public’s personal data will be shared across departments without specified safeguards.

For some, this is an essential move towards making the government more efficient. Others are concerned that government departments will be able to pool data collected without having put in place robust privacy protections, and fear that public sector bodies may end up following the “data free-for-all” that exists in the private sector.

It’s complicated. When asked, people tend to say they want the government to move toward information sharing. In one recent poll for KPMG, 41% of respondents said the public sector is being too cautious about sharing data, and 38% said they want the convenience in terms of things like customer service. But that is at a general level. People tend to change their tune when it comes to how it could affect them at an individual level – 37% are worried about their personal data, 67% think interacting with government online is “creepy” and 48% do not want to interact with virtual agents.

We are holding a livechat, supported by KPMG, on the Public Leaders network to explore this paradox and find out whether people really will agree to sharing more data if it leads to better services. This is part of our global public leaders series on how governments around the world are using data to improve services for citizens.

Join our livechat, which will take place in the comments section below this article, from 12:30-14:00 BST on Thursday 30 March 2017, when our expert panel will discuss:

  • How can governments best reassure their citizens that they are safeguarding their personal data?
  • Whether this is a wider issue of trust in governments, and, if so, how governments can not just become more open and ethical but persuade citizens they are moving in that direction
  • Which proven or future technical approaches will help governments link up data most safely
  • Whether this is fundamentally a political issue or a technical issue

The panel

Eric Applewhite is director of Public Sector Technology and Transformation for KPMG in the UK. He served as the programme director for New York City’s HHS-Connect Human Services Connect initiative to better integrate the city’s eight health and social care agencies. He is now leading a partnership with Greater Manchester to create a first of its kind local authority data sharing organisation, named GM-Connect, to break down barriers to public service information sharing. @fruitandcolor

Liz Brandt is the CEO of Ctrl-Shift, a business consultancy helping organisations to develop and future-proof digital products and services which empower customers through greater control of their data. @lizbrandt

Philip Craig is the Government Sector Strategy Director at Sopra Steria, a European IT consultancy. The firm recently published research revealing that UK citizens are keener than ever to use digital public services, but that there are significant concerns about privacy and the security of their personal information. @PhilipCraig1

Lilian Edwards is professor of e-governance at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. She is on the advisory board of the Open Rights Group and the Foundation for Internet Privacy Research. @lilianedwards

Sarah Henry leads analytics and the Data Science agenda for Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. @SarahHenry1201 @GM_Connect

Tom Symons is a principal researcher in the Policy and Research team at innovation foundation Nesta. His research focuses on government innovation and he is currently undertaking research into the ways data can help governments to improve decision making and support innovation. @tomwsymons

Michael Veale is a doctoral researcher at University College London’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), working to understand what responsible use of machine learning algorithms by public sector organisations such as the police, tax agencies and justice departments could look like in the future. He is also an external researcher on the Royal Society’s data governance science–policy project. @mikarv

Peter Wells is a policy associate at the The Open Data Institute (ODI), with a focus on government. The ODI was co-founded by the inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee and AI expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt to address today’s global challenges using the web of data. @peterkwells

More panellists will be announced shortly - if you would like to be considered please email Kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com.

How to take part

The livechat takes place in the comments section below this article and will be moderated by Kirstie Brewer, commissioning editor on the Public Leaders Network.

To take part you can create a free Guardian account, or log in using your Twitter or Facebook profiles to comment. Alternatively, you can tweet us via @Guardianpublic or email any questions to kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com.

Sign up for your free weekly Guardian Public Leaders newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you every Thursday. Follow us on Twitter via@Guardianpublic

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