Research often requires using sensitive data to answer important questions. The ethical collection and analysis of personal information can be challenging to do while still protecting the privacy of the implicated individuals, honoring informed consent, and complying with other legal obligations. The technology, policies, and ethical considerations for researchers are constantly shifting, sometimes making it difficult to keep up. That’s why FPF engages stakeholders across academia and industry to produce recommendations, best practices, and ethical review structures that promote responsible research. Our work is centered around streamlining, encouraging, and promoting responsible research that respects essential privacy and ethical considerations throughout the research lifecycle. FPF works with policymakers to develop legislative protections that support effective, responsible research with strong privacy safeguards, including hosting events that allow policymakers and regulators to engage directly with practitioners from academia, advocacy, and industry.
FPF also has an Ethics and Data in Research Working Group. This group receives late-breaking analysis of emerging legislation affecting research and data, meets to discuss the ethical and technological challenges of conducting research, and collaborates to create best practices to protect privacy, decrease risk, and increase data sharing for research, partnerships, and infrastructure. Learn more and join here.
Algorithmic transparency: Examining from within and without
As the volume of consumer data grows, an increasing number of decisions previously made by humans are now made by algorithms. Many thought leaders have called for algorithmic transparency to ensure that these decisions aren’t leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes, but algorithmic transparency is tricky to implement. Last December, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill acknowledged […]
Beyond IRBs: Designing Ethical Review Processes for Big Data Research
Kicking off a great event this morning, Beyond IRBs: Designing Ethical Review Processes for Big Data Research, with over 60 of the country’s top academics and industry researchers. Thoughtful Key Note remarks from Professor Ryan Calo, from the University of Washington School of Law, have framed the conversation today around how best to create incentives in […]
Controlling the Future of Privacy
Last week, I was fortunate enough to see several cool new applications of location technology and social data at two conferences which bookended my week. Privacy issues were addressed at the end of each conference, which I understand: a lecture about privacy is the last thing entrepreneurs and researchers want to hear. Unfortunately, privacy can […]
A Way Forward for Social Media Research
Few would deny that technology and social media are changing the way we interact. People today can stay in touch with friends on Facebook, share vacation photos on Instagram, follow trends on Twitter, grow their networks on LinkedIn, and explore communities on Reddit. And people are staying connected wherever they go. The Pew Research Center […]
Call for Papers: Beyond IRBs
CALL FOR PAPERS Beyond IRBs: Designing Ethical Review Processes for Big Data Research In the age of Big Data, innovative uses of information are continuously emerging in a wide variety of contexts. Increasingly, researchers at companies, not-for-profit organizations and academic institutions use individuals’ personal data as raw material for analysis and research. For research […]
Beyond IRBs: Designing Ethical Review Processes for Big Data
On December 10th, the Future of Privacy Forum will be hosting a full-day workshop on how to develop ethical review frameworks for big data research, featuring lessons from both existing academic institutional review boards and the privacy profession.
Framing the "Big Data Industry"
For all its hype, discussions about Big Data often still devolve into debates about buzzwords and concepts like business intelligence, data analytics, and machine learning. Hidden in each of these terms are important privacy and ethical considerations. A recent article by Kirsten Martin in MIS Quarterly Executive attempts to bring these considerations to the surface by moving past framing […]
Future of Privacy Forum Releases New Survey on Privacy and Trust Issues in the "Sharing Economy"
FUTURE OF PRIVACY FORUM RELEASES NEW SURVEY ON PRIVACY AND TRUST ISSUES IN THE “SHARING ECONOMY” Whitepaper Examines Benefits and Challenges of Reputation Management in Peer-to-Peer Services and Provides an Overview of Market Leaders in Key Sharing Economy Sectors WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, June 8, 2015 – As peer-to-peer services comprising the “Sharing Economy” continue […]
Facebook Moves Forward with an Ethics Review Panel
Jules and Omer opine in the Hill on today’s announcement from Facebook, commenting about the “essential accountability mechanism for companies that are struggling to balance the risks and opportunities of big data.” The Hill “Facebook’s announcement — establishing guidelines, review processes, training and enhanced transparency for research projects — marks another milestone in the emergence […]
Thoughts on the Data Innovation Pledge
Yesterday, as he accepted the IAPP Privacy Vanguard award, Intel’s David Hoffman made a “data innovation pledge” that he would work only to promote ethical and innovative uses of data. As someone who only relatively recently entered the privacy world by diving headfirst into the sea of challenges surrounding big data, I think an affirmative […]