FPF Launches Effort to Advance Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in Support of AI Executive Order, Convenes Experts, and Meets With White House

FPF’s Research Coordination Network will support developing and deploying Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) for socially beneficial data sharing and analytics.

JULY 9, 2024 — Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) is launching the Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) Research Coordination Network (RCN) with a virtual convening of diverse experts alongside a high-level, in-person workshop with key stakeholders at the White House Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), the project will analyze and promote the trustworthy adoption of PETs in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and other key technologies, as directed in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Order on AI. 

FPF’s RCN will bring together a multi-stakeholder community of academic researchers, industry practitioners, policymakers, and others to identify key barriers to responsible use of PETs and opportunities for PETs to enable ethical data use and sharing. Some PETs offer new anonymization tools, while others enable collaborative analysis on privately-held datasets, allowing the use of data without the need to share or disclose the data itself. Given the wide range of use cases and applications for PETs, particularly in the field of AI, the RCN will hold regular meetings to promote ethical data use, encourage responsible scientific research and innovation, and ensure that individuals and society can equitably benefit from data sharing and analytics. The RCN will also engage with FPF’s Global PETs Network in an effort to increase regulatory clarity regarding PETs.

Today’s virtual meeting will gather subject-matter experts to focus on the broad definitions of PETs, their risks and benefits, and policy work that could unlock their use in more contexts. Following the meeting, prominent researchers and industry leaders will join a Roundtable discussion with executive branch officials in the White House to discuss the intersection of PETs, AI, and data privacy.

“Today’s event officially kicks off FPF’s three-year project to support the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on AI,” said John Verdi, FPF’s Senior Vice President for Policy, who serves as the project’s principal investigator.  “We are thrilled to play an important role in this concerted effort to advance regulatory clarity regarding PETs, AI, and emerging technologies. The diversity of perspectives in the PETs Research Coordination Network will be key to its success in developing best practices and policy recommendations that promote equity and take into account technology’s implications for marginalized and vulnerable groups.”

The RCN was created in direct response to the goals of the White House’s National Strategy to Advance Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics. Steering Committee Members include FPF CEO Jules Polonetsky and Senior Fellow Marjory Blumenthal, Caroline Louveaux from MasterCard, Margaret Hu from William and Mary Law School, Khaled El Emam from the University of Ottawa, and Annie Anton from Georgia Tech.

Learn more here.

In addition to the main expert group, FPF will convene a regulator sub-group focused specifically on legal and regulatory mechanisms supporting the development and use of PETs. More information is available here. 

The Research Coordination Network (RCN) for Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Award #2413978 and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science under Award #DE-SC0024884.

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About the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF)

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) is a global non-profit organization that brings together academics, civil society, government officials, and industry to evaluate the societal, policy, and legal implications of data use, identify the risks, and develop appropriate protections. 

FPF believes technology and data can benefit society and improve lives if the right laws, policies, and rules are in place. FPF has offices in Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore, and Tel Aviv. Learn more at fpf.org.