Responsible Technology: Upholding ethical standards and protecting human rights within security

Open platform video technology software is more than just a product; it's a tool that helps customers achieve their desired business outcomes. Safety, round-the-clock security, and increased operational efficiencies are now the norm due to video technology.

Responsible Technology

Despite humanity’s impressive technological advances, we also recognise the immense responsibility that comes with technological innovation.

It's not enough to focus solely on the positive impact video technology can make, we must also be vigilant in identifying and addressing any potential negative consequences it can have on society and its citizens. This is the role of Responsible Technology.

Data privacy

We want to use all the good things that technology innovation brings, whether it be video, AI, ML, facial recognition, etc.

We want to use all the good things that technology innovation brings, whether it be video, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, facial recognition, etc. to serve people in societies in a responsible way.

That means making sure that we regulate technology in a way that respects human rights and data privacy.

Addressing the challenges

The challenge is, that rather often technology leaders and policymakers either have conflicting interests or collaborate too late. To be responsible, business leaders must support their societies and policymakers in making regulations in the interest of the common good.

At Milestone Systems, we are actively looking at how we develop our software responsibly, how our partners responsibly sell our software, and very importantly, how our customers use our software with a responsible mindset.

Ensuring good corporate governance

As a long-time partner within the security industry, we’re celebrating our 25th Anniversary this year, we are supporting the regulation of video technology for the good of society. However,

it of course needs to strike the fine line between the right legislation and not hindering innovation. 

UNGP

The UNGP is the most authoritative and widely adopted set of principles for responsible business

At Milestone Systems, we want to play an active role in this and that is why we have pledged our support to the UN's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). The UNGP is the most authoritative and widely adopted set of principles for responsible business.

The principles call on governments and companies to identify, prevent, mitigate, and remedy actual and potential human rights abuses. Since its launch in 2011, the UNGPs have received wide support from states, civil society organisations, and the private sector, making them the key global foundation for business and human rights.

Protect, respect, and remedy

Through this commitment, we are taking steps to ensure good corporate governance and ethical standards in the development of our technology. We're generating mechanisms to prevent misuse and we are building educational practices internally.

Based on the UNGP’s three pillars: protect, respect, and remedy, we are developing a set of Responsible Technology Principles and procedures for the development, selling, and use of our products.

Need for video technology regulation

In addition, we are currently evaluating all the various technology areas in which our video software can be used, such as with third-party integrations that utilise e.g., facial recognition. We are mapping out the advantages and disadvantages for societies.

One key area of concern is how local authorities are mapping and storing data about us as individuals. This is the reason why we're inviting more legislation to regulate video technology rather than less.

Engaging With policymakers

We are meeting ministers and trade organisations as we believe this needs to be a joint effort where all parties are heard

We are proactively reaching out to and connecting with policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to discuss our approach to and take on Responsible Technology and encouraging the political landscape to work with us around regulation and legislation.

We are meeting ministers and trade organisations as we believe this needs to be a joint effort where all parties are heard and where we can openly weigh the advantages and the challenges of technology, whether it is video, facial recognition, machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, or other technologies.

Striking a balance

Implementing Responsible Technology is a journey, not a destination. To give it the focus needed, we have created a dedicated team to implement this initiative at Milestone Systems.

At the same time, we are reaching out to the political landscape to discuss how we balance regulation without hindering innovation.

Video technology used ethically

We are a global company with worldwide operations, and we are having dialogues about how video technology is being used and how we can have meaningful talks about what regulation and legislation should look like.

However, we don’t necessarily want to limit access to the technology itself.

Facial recognition

We encourage the policymakers to engage with us in the industry so that together we can strike the fine line

Facial recognition is a great example of this. The EU is considering making live facial recognition illegal. That would be a huge inhibitor of proactive terrorism prevention. For example, if a well-known terrorist is walking down the street and is being mapped out against Interpol’s most wanted list, the authorities should be able to react.

However, if a person walking down the street but is not mapped out or does not have any priors then the city should not be allowed to store the data of that individual’s whereabouts at that point in time. This potential legislation is concerning to me as a citizen of Europe. Instead, we encourage the policymakers to engage with us in the industry so that together we can strike the fine line for the better good of all of us.

Maintaining high ethical standards

We have a firm understanding and expectation that ethical standards are a huge driver in the security business. Citizens are not in favour of technology companies abusing data about them and monetising from things that they have not opted in to do.

Soon, I think we will see many more companies and governments leaning toward suppliers that do have a responsible mindset and high ethical standards for partnerships.

Ethical practices

Our journey toward Responsible Technology is an ongoing process, and we must remain steadfast in our commitment to ethical practices and the protection of human rights.

We recognise that the rapidly changing technological landscape continually presents new challenges and opportunities. For this reason, we continuously look into how we can improve, for example, our end user licence agreements to avoid potential human rights abuses.

An industry responsibility

Security companies must prioritise careful planning and preparation, including developing policies and procedures

For Responsible Technology to truly become a reality, compliance with international human rights laws and data privacy regulations is critical.

Security companies must prioritise careful planning and preparation, including developing policies and procedures that govern the ethical use of video surveillance systems.

The secure and ethical community

In today's technology environment where deep integrations, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are becoming the norm, Responsible Technology is more relevant than ever.

The security industry has a unique opportunity to set an example for other sectors by promoting a secure and ethical development community that prioritises Responsible Technology, trustworthy data collection, and the protection of human rights. We must all rise to this challenge and embrace our role as ethical leaders for the greater good of both people and societies.