Addressing the privacy issues related to advertising technology and online tracking has been a key focus since FPF’s founding. Increasingly, the mobile advertising space, geo-location tracking, and indoor positioning technologies are at the forefront of online data management, retail, and new consumer offerings. Thus, it is not surprising that regulators, industry leaders, and advocates are taking a hard look at questions about how to appropriately collect and handle consumer data for advertising, location-based targeting, and audience measurement. Additionally, as public awareness of targeted and personalized advertising grows, organizations are pushed to deliver more helpful, relevant ads by less intrusive means. FPF curates a gallery of leading practices, provides up-to-date analysis of emerging and evolving technologies, convenes stakeholders in a monthly working group call, and works with policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders to support leading privacy practices for the use of location data.
Google Updates Developer Program Policies with New Rules for Ads
Google has recently updated its set of rules that developers must follow when distributing apps on the Google Play store. The updated rules are designed in part to guide developers in promoting their apps.
A “Cutting-Edge” Guide to Privacy For Not-So-“Cutting-Edge” Phones
Now that the New Year is upon us, California’s Do Not Track transparency bill AB 370 is officially in effect. As websites start to disclose in their privacy policies how they respond to Do Not Track signals, it’s helpful to explain a little more about Do Not Track, as well as other options consumers can […]
Tracking Do Not Track: New Ad Network Data Shows That 8 Percent Of Users Have DNT On
Getting Ready For Tracking Transparency Law to Kick In Starting in 2014, California’s new law AB 370 requires all websites that collect personally identifying information to disclose in their privacy policies how they respond to browser Do Not Track signals. FPF has launched AllAboutDNT as a resource for companies preparing to make a statement about […]
Latanya Sweeney and Andrea Matwyshyn to Join FTC
Today, the FTC announced that the appointment of Latanya Sweeney to serve as the agency’s Chief Technologist and Andrea Matwyshyn as a Senior Policy Advisor on privacy and data security issues. Dr. Sweeney is well-known for her hardline criticism of “anonymity” in publicly released datasets. In 1997, Sweeney used seemingly anonymous medical data to demonstrate […]
Oct. 1 – Your Digital Trail: Private Company Access – NPR
Jules Polonetsky is featured in a multi-series piece about digital life on NPR’s All Tech Considered: “I think companies haven’t figured out how to talk to people about data or privacy,” says Jules Polonetsky, executive director of the Future of Privacy Forum. “And we think that’s a big part of why the industry has such a […]
Apple Introduces New Privacy Features with iOS 7
With all the excitement around the launch of the new iPhone and iOS 7, we thought it would be interesting to highlight some new privacy-specific features. Some of these have been introduced as part of the iOS 7 software; others, like the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, are specific to the new iPhone. Here are some […]
FTC Provides Limited “Safe Harbor” for Users of a “Do Not Track for Kids” Flag
The new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule that went into effect earlier this month restricts almost all forms of tracking across child-directed sites other than for a set of limited “internal operations purposes.” Child-directed sites are now strictly liable for any third party tracking on their sites that do not meet COPPA’s limited […]
FTC Privacy Veteran Molly Crawford Joins Future of Privacy Forum as Policy Director
Washington, DC, July 23, 2013 The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), a Washington, DC-based think tank advancing responsible data use and consumer privacy, today announced that former Federal Trade Commission staffer Molly Crawford has joined FPF as its first Policy Director. In her new role, Ms. Crawford will be expanding and coordinating FPF’s focus on […]
Getting COPPA Right with a New Directed at Children Signal
One of the most important provisions of the updated Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule that took effect yesterday is the extension of child privacy protection to behavioral advertising, the practice of tracking users across online sites and services to tailor advertising. The Future of Privacy Forum supported the Federal Trade Commission’s move to […]
Do Not Track Hearing Takeaways
Organized by Sen. Rockefeller (D-W. Virginia), who has repeatedly pushed for a “Do Not Track” law, yesterday’s Senate Commerce Commerce Committee hearing on Do Not Track (DNT) was billed as an opportunity for industry to provide senators with an update on how voluntary DNT standards were proceeding. Joined by Senators Blumenthal, Heller, McCaskill, and Thune, […]