FPF Releases Privacy Papers for Policy Makers Journal

To view “Privacy Papers for Policy Makers” Journal, click here.

Future of Privacy Forum Releases New Journal:

“Privacy Papers for Policy Makers”

Journal Highlights Leading Privacy Writings for Hill and Agencies

To Consider When Addressing Privacy Concerns

WASHINGTON – Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) released a new journal entitled Privacy Papers for Policy Makers, which highlights six leading privacy writings that were voted by the FPF Advisory Board to be most useful for policy makers on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies who are focusing on how to improve the protection of personal privacy .  The writings cover a wide array of topics, including recommendations for regulatory reform, how privacy protection must adapt to user perceptions and how to design privacy policies for the Web:

•  Regulatory Reform – These writings examine alternative structural proposals for the protection of personal privacy, including the use of voluntary self-regulatory Safe Harbors.
• User Perceptions – Several papers concluded there is no such thing as one size fits all; that user value of privacy can vary dramatically based on individual experiences.  One study counters the perception that young people don’t care about privacy.  Another shows that if consumers believe they have control over the use of their data (whether they actually do or not), they are more likely to share personal information than would otherwise be the case.
• Communicating Privacy Policies – This work examines a standardized and user friendly design for website privacy policies.

The Journal was released at an event held at the George Washington University Law School, which as part of its partnership with FPF, hosts a series of events examining privacy issues.  The six papers featured in the journal were selected among more than sixty entries, and were chosen by members of FPF’s Advisory Board, which is comprised of leading figures from industry, academia, law and advocacy groups.  The journal was sponsored with support from AT&T, LexisNexis, Microsoft and Procter & Gamble.

Christopher Wolf, FPF’s Founder and Co-Chair commented on the significance of the Privacy Papers for Policy Makers publication, “Improving privacy protection is vitally important in this technology age so we are delighted to help build a bridge of communication between privacy scholars and privacy policy makers.  We hope the Journal will lead to greater communication and collaboration.”

Privacy issues have dominated the headlines in recent months with concerns about Google’s Streetview technology, privacy changes from Facebook, and the announcement of pending privacy legislation from both sides of Capitol Hill. 

FPF’s director and co-chair Jules Polonetsky emphasized the need to educate more policy makers about the diverse issues surrounding privacy issues and explore the myriad of thoughts that academics, industry leaders, and privacy advocates have on the issue. 

“There’s no silver bullet to resolving all of the privacy concerns the public has in this new technological age,” Polonetsky said.  “These writings offer some of the most compelling and innovative viewpoints that we hope policymakers consider as they look to address privacy issues.”

A full list of the writings and authors featured in the Privacy Papers for Policy Makers journal are listed below.  To see the full text of the journal and the executive summaries of the writings, click here.

Privacy on the Books and on the Ground

Kenneth A. Bamberger and Deirdre K. Mulligan

What is Privacy Worth?

Alessandro Acquisti, Leslie John and George Loewenstein

Misplaced Confidences: Privacy and the Control Paradox

Laura Brandimarte, Alessandro Acquisti and George Loewenstein

Standardizing Privacy Notices: An Online Study of the Nutrition Label Approach

Patrick Gage Kelley, Lucian Cesca, Joanna Bresee and Lorrie Faith Cranor

How Different are Young Adults from Older Adults When it Comes to Information Privacy Attitudes and Policies?

Chris Hoofnagle, Jennifer King, Su Li and Joseph Turow

Privacy and Regulatory Innovation: Moving Beyond Voluntary Codes

Ira Rubinstein

This collection of papers is a not a formal publication; the respective authors maintain the copyright on their manuscripts.

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) is a Washington, DC based think tank that seeks to advance responsible data practices. The forum is led by Internet privacy experts Jules Polonetsky and Christopher Wolf and includes an advisory board comprised of leading figures from industry, academia, law and advocacy groups. FPF was launched in November 2008.