Jan. 13, 2012 – New Consumer Research to be Released at Smart Grid Symposium, PR Newswire

ATLANTA, Jan. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC), a nonprofit specializing in research and education on smart grid consumer engagement, announced that the second wave of findings from its Smart Grid Consumer Pulse research study will be released at the SGCC Consumer Symposium to be held January 23, 2012 at DistribuTECH in San Antonio. The findings, developed through telephone surveys of energy end-users nationwide, bring up to date industry knowledge of consumer opinion about smart grid and smart meters, with all research completed in November and December of 2011. Attendees of the symposium will be the first members of the smart grid community to learn the results.

Google Plus Social Search Privacy

I have been following the privacy concerns raised about Google Plus with interest and some skepticism.  I can’t quite figure out where exactly data is being used in a way that would create an issue.  I have two monitors on my desk, one on my left with my Google Plus circles displayed and one in front of me with the Google Search home page.  On my left, I search for New Hampshire primary results on Google Plus and I see posts that are public and posts from folks who have me in their Circles.  On my right, I search on Google for New Hampshire primary and see the usual Google Search results.  The new Google Plus Social Search in effect combines these  two screens.  If I am logged in to Google Plus when I search on Google Search, my personal results will include links to posts available to me in my Google Plus network.

 

Nothing previously private becomes public and nothing previously public but obscure becomes more visible than before.  Isn’t this precisely the way search should become more useful to me, leveraging data without exposing it in some unexpected way?

 

-Jules Polonetsky

12 pm Webinar: Recapping FPF's "Personal Information: The Benefits and Risks of De-Identification" Event

Please join Jules Polonetsky and Professor Khaled El Emam, Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information, University of Ottawa, for a 12 pm Eastern webinar. Polonetsky and Professor El Emam will discuss highlights from FPF’s December 5, 2011 event on personal information and provide an analysis of the conference. Please click here to join the webinar.

To see complete panel videos from the day, please click here.

Jan. 12, 2012 – Seven tips for protecting personal data online, The Globe and Mail

Think protecting customer privacy is only an issue for business giants such as Facebook and Sony? Think again.

Many small companies have lost customer trust or even been sued over privacy mishaps in recent years. And they’re likely to face more problems as digital data files grow in size and importance.

Jan. 11, 2012 – The Circuit: FCC at CES, gadget privacy, Google’s social search, Washington Post

LEADING THE DAY: Today is a big policy day at CES, with panels addressing a range of technology policy issues. Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski is also speaking today with the Consumer Electronics Association president, Gary Shapiro

Jan. 5, 2012 – Even Without Legislation, Privacy Will Be a Hot Issue in 2012, National Journal

While few expect Congress to pass broad privacy legislation, privacy will still get a lot of attention in 2012, starting with the release in the coming weeks of two highly anticipated federal reports providing guidance on protecting consumer privacy online.

FPF Comments on Proposed COPPA Rule

FPF submitted comments to the FTC on proposed amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. FPF commends the FTC’s commitment to protect the privacy of children in a rapidly developing online marketplace. FPF’s comments focus on amendments affecting those areas that correspond with the organization’s specific expertise and experience, namely: (I) The proposal to modify the definition of “personal information”; (II) the proposed revisions directed to protecting the security, confidentiality and integrity of information collected from children; (III) geolocation issues; (IV) apps and platform issues; and (V) new parental consent mechanisms.

FPF Coppa Comments