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.
Call for Position Statements on Responsible Uses of Technology and Health Data During Times of Crisis
Event Overview The Future of Privacy Forum, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, SFI ADAPT Research Centre, Dublin City University, and Intel Corporation presents Privacy & Pandemics: Responsible Uses of Technology and Health Data During Times of Crisis — An International Tech and Data Conference, including a two day […]
The European Commission Considers Amending the General Data Protection Regulation to Make Digital Age of Consent Consistent
The European Commission published a Communication on its mandated two-year evaluation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on June 24, 2020 in which it discusses as a future policy development “the possible harmonisation of the age of children consent in relation to information society services.” Notably, harmonizing the age of consent for children across […]
FPF & BrightHive Release Playbook to Create Responsible Contact Tracing Initiatives, Address Privacy & Ethics Concerns
A new playbook from the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and BrightHive, Responsible Data Use Playbook for Digital Contact Tracing, provides a series of considerations to assist stakeholders in setting up a digital contact tracing initiative to track and manage the spread of COVID-19, while addressing privacy concerns raised by these technologies in an ethical, […]
New FPF Study: More Than 250 European Companies are Participating in Key EU-US Data Transfer Mechanism
Co-Authored by: Drew Medway & Jeremy Greenberg European Companies’ Participation in Privacy Shield Up Nearly 30% from the Past Year. EU-US Privacy Shield Remains Essential to Leading European Companies. From Major Employers such as Logitech and Siemens to Leading Technology Firms like Telefónica and SAP, European Companies Depend on the EU-US Agreement. The Privacy Shield […]
Supreme Court Rules that LGBTQ Employees Deserve Workplace Protections–More Progress is Needed to Combat Unfairness and Disparity
Authors: Katelyn Ringrose (Christopher Wolf Diversity Law Fellow) and Dr. Sara Jordan (Policy Counsel, Artificial Intelligence and Ethics) Today’s Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County—clarifying that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity—is a major victory in the fight for LGBTQ […]
TEN QUESTIONS ON AI RISK
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) generate significant value when used responsibly – and are the subject of growing investment for exactly these reasons. But AI/ML can also amplify organizations’ exposure to potential vulnerabilities, ranging from fairness and security issues to regulatory fines and reputational harm.
FPF Releases New Report on GDPR Guidance for US Higher Education Institutions
Today, FPF released The General Data Protection Regulation: Analysis and Guidance for US Higher Education Institutions by Senior Counsel Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna. The new report contains analysis and guidance to assist United States-based higher education institutions and their edtech service providers in assessing their compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
FPF Honors UC-Irvine/Lumos Labs Partnership with First-Ever Award for Research Data Stewardship
Click here to view the Call for Nominations for the 2021 FPF Award for Research Data Stewardship. Click here to watch a recording of the 2020 FPF Award for Research Data Stewardship virtual awards event. University of California Irvine (UCI) Professor of Cognitive Science Mark Steyvers and Lumos Labs – the parent company behind Lumosity, […]
Privacy and Pandemics: A Thoughtful Discussion
As the COVID-19 virus spreads, governments, researchers, and healthcare institutions are seeking to obtain and deploy consumer data to track the spread of the virus, deliver emergency supplies, target travel restrictions and quarantines, and develop vaccines and cures. But can data collected from phones, credit cards, and other sources be used in this emergency without […]
Call for Public Comments: Resources for Companies Sharing Personal Data with Academic Researchers
In June 2019, FPF launched the Corporate-Academic Data Stewardship Research Alliance, a peer-to-peer network of private companies that share the goal of facilitating privacy-protective data sharing between businesses and academic researchers. The Alliance has worked to support data sharing efforts, help address and mitigate challenges that create barriers to sharing, and promote responsible and privacy-protective […]