Leading Research Presented at Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers

On Wednesday evening, the Future of Privacy Forum hosted the Sixth Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers, an annual presentation and discussion of leading privacy research. The top papers, all published in 2015, were selected by a subcommittee from the FPF Advisory Board as the best papers to inform any conversation about regulatory privacy initiatives in Congress, as well as at the Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies. Click here to read the 1-page executive summaries of the winning papers.

At the event, which included two panels, the authors discussed a broad range of subjects, including the ethics of big data release policy, the design of effective privacy notices, theories of trust and marketplaces and privacy, and the “golden age of surveillance” in law enforcement. Authors discussed their individual papers, followed by audience Q&A.

In addition, special guests, Julie Brill, FTC Commissioner, and Dr. Lorrie Faith Cranor, FTC Chief Technologist discussed the impact of privacy research on FTC work. Dr. Cranor said sometimes there’s a “mismatch” between what policymakers are asking and what researchers are trying to answer. “Stronger dialogues” are needed between researchers and policymakers “so that our academic research can be more relevant and useful” to government and corporate decision-makers. Commissioner Brill also discussed her interest in the theoretical frameworks of privacy, noting that privacy research affects her work by identifying key issues and sources of disagreement in privacy debates.