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.
Evan Selinger & Brenda Leong on Student Data Privacy
On September 17, Passcode published “The Case for Safeguarding Students’ Digital Privacy”, an opinion piece discussing the results of a recent FPF-sponsored survey on parents’ attitudes towards the collection and use of student data. Coauthored by FPF’s own Evan Selinger and Brenda Leong, the piece identifies the risks to students who maintain an active online […]
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 […]
2015 National Student Privacy Symposium
FUTURE OF PRIVACY FORUM, DATA QUALITY CAMPAIGN TO HOST 2015 NATIONAL STUDENT PRIVACY SYMPOSIUM IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 Leading Education & Privacy Experts to Discuss, Explore the Benefits and Risks of Student Data and Technology in Schools WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 18, 2105 – As students, parents, teachers and school administrators gear […]
Beyond the Common Rule: IRBs for Big Data and Beyond?
In the wake of last year’s news about the Facebook “emotional contagion” study and subsequent public debate about the role of A/B Testing and ethical concerns around the use of Big Data, FPF Senior Fellow Omer Tene participated in a December symposum on corporate consumer research hosted by Silicon Flatirons. This past month, the Colorado Technology […]
Student Privacy Symposium
The 2015 Student Data Privacy Symposium will present a thoughtful consideration by leading education and privacy experts on how student data should be collected and used. A series of panels will review the overarching value of technology and data use by educational institutions as demonstrated by current research, as well as the related concerns and risks of such use.
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.
Beyond the Common Rule
Jules Polonetsky, Omer Tene, and Joseph Jerome address the processes required to authorize noncontextual data uses at corporations or not-for-profit organizations in the absence of additional notice and …
Tackling Privacy, One Carnegie Mellon Project at a Time
Last Thursday, the Future of Privacy Forum hosted a conversation among five of CMU’s leading privacy researchers. While the panelists discussed a number of their leading privacy projects, I wanted to highlight some of the interesting takeaways I took from the presentation. Many of the researchers focused on how subtle nudges can be used to change people’s behaviors. […]
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 […]
FPF Welcomes Senior Fellows Evan Selinger and Danielle Citron
LEADING PRIVACY SCHOLARS JOIN FUTURE OF PRIVACY FORUM AS SENIOR FELLOWS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR Professors Evan Selinger and Danielle Citron Bring Privacy and Ethics Expertise to Help Advance Responsible Data Practices WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thursday, June 18, 2015 – Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) announced that two academic leaders have joined the ranks […]