6 - 2016 - Future of Privacy Forum

June 28th Event: Ensuring Individual Privacy in a Data Driven World

Criteo and The Future of Privacy Forum are pleased to invite you to an exceptional conference gathering a very high-level selection of regulators, lawyers, advertisers, publishers and politics to discuss about individual privacy in a data driven world.

You will get valuable insights from Axelle Lemaire (French government), Jean-Baptiste Rudelle (Criteo), Jurgen Van Staden (NAI), Gwendal Le Grand (CNIL) and other speakers.

Save the date for Tuesday, June 28th from 09:00 to 18:00.

The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things

Yesterday, the Future of Privacy Forum filed comments with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to NTIA’s inquiry into the Internet of Things (IoT). NTIA asked policy experts and other stakeholders to identify key issues affecting deployment the IoT – a broad category of devices, appliances, and objects that can be connected via the Internet. The Internet of Things has been a focus of FPF’s work since our founding in 2008. FPF recognizes the enormous potential benefits to consumers and to society of the inter-connected applications offered through the Internet of Things.

FPF’s comments, “The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things,” describe the privacy and security challenges presented by IoT technologies, as well as the enormous potential benefits to consumers and to society of the inter-connected applications offered through the Internet of Things. FPF urges NTIA to promote the use of IoT data in ways that will benefit disadvantaged populations and promote inclusion. Our comments highlight IoT technologies that offer direct, meaningful benefits for individuals who are elderly, infirm, visually impaired, deaf, living with chronic health conditions, suffering from mobility-related disabilities, or economically disadvantaged. Today, IoT technologies are improving the day-to-day quality of life of traditionally underserved groups:

Sensors can alert relatives when a family member fails to take medicine, eat, or return home from a walk.

IoT devices in hospitals can track when patients get in and out of bed, help prevent falls, monitor clinical roundups to ensure that clinicians check in on patients at least once per hour, and revolutionize the protocol for preventing and treating painful pressure ulcers.

Wearable video cameras can translate text to audio in real time, providing crucial assistance to the visually impaired.

Smart home technologies allow users to control things in his or her home that may be physically difficult to reach, such as lights, door locks or security systems.

M2M technology, integrated with new payment platforms, is expanding access to credit by enabling two new payment methods: pay-as-you-go asset financing, which allows consumers to pay for products over time, and prepaid, where consumers pay for services on an as-needed basis.

Emerging IoT technologies promise to broaden inclusiveness for traditionally underserved groups in the immediate future. Common sense privacy protections can build trust in IoT technologies and help ensure that consumers enjoy the full benefits of IoT sensors and devices.

Enhancing Usability for Online Privacy Controls

Today, Google announced new features that provide users with additional customized options and controls over personal data, as well as easy-to-follow instructions and notifications that explain users’ choices in simple terms. The new features make privacy controls quicker to find and easier to understand and operate. For example, the changes make Google’s privacy controls more accessible via web search and voice commands; users are increasingly relying on search and voice to quickly get important information and operate mobile devices.

FPF is committed to advancing responsible data practices, including design techniques that create practical, usable tools that help consumers access and control personal data. Part of using data responsibly means going beyond just posting privacy policies; it should also mean putting the same effort that goes into making a product user friendly into making privacy and data-related functions easy to find and understand. When these attributes meet, consumers win with well-designed, user-friendly privacy settings and controls.

FPF has long talked about the need for companies to compete on privacy. We strongly support signs like Google’s new features that show how the market for privacy tools is growing. The biggest advances for consumers – privacy tools that consumers most want and use – are increasingly being driven by consumer demand and market competition.

The new Google features are additions to the company’s “My Account” – the hub Google created last year to give users a quick and easy way to safeguard their data and protect their privacy throughout Google accounts. “My Account” put these privacy and security tools in one place, simplifying users’ making it easy for the user to understand and select clear privacy settings from any one of their devices, to control settings across all their devices.

Now, it is easier than ever to find the access controls. From any device, signed-in Google users can simply search their name, and see a shortcut to the My Account hub. This interaction leverages the fact that people rarely remember where the account settings are in different programs – they are increasingly searching for options rather than using menus. Showing My Account atop Search – and linking to the options directly – promotes the functions that let people easily get to important information. Users follow this process for flights, to track package delivery, and to review payment accounts, so why not make account and privacy info and options just as easy and responsive?

In addition, Google offers a voice option to get to My Account. Voice controls are an increasingly important interface for mobile functions – to launch apps and to access options buried within apps or sites – so it is great to see voice controls that get you directly to privacy and security features on an account that is used across every device you have. According to Google, a user can simply say, “Ok Google, show me my Google account,” and it takes take the user there.

Finally, “find your phone” is a new feature that will help locate a phone that has been lost or stolen. Phones hold some of our most sensitive data: personal texts, family photos, work emails, financial information, and more. Millions of phones are lost or stolen every year. When users first first realizd their phone is missing, it’s easy to panic and not always easy to know what to do next. Now, a user can locate and lock their phone, as well as secure their account and leave a callback number on the screen.

These updates are a major step forward for practical, usable design in the privacy field. It is encouraging to see leading design principles applied to privacy controls that are available to more than 1 Billion users.