The latest CDT Policy Post discusses the importance Privacy by Design. They extensively reference Anne Cavoukian (Ontario’s kickass Privacy Commissioner and author of Who Knows).
The seven principles of Privacy by Design are:
- Proactive, not Reactive; Preventative, not Remedial
- Privacy as the Default
- Privacy Embedded into Design
- Full Functionality – Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum
- End-to-End Lifecycle Protection
- Visibility and Transparency
- Respect for User Privacy
Any system you build should take these in to account.