Connected technologies and always-on data flows are helping make today’s cities and communities more livable, productive, and sustainable. At the same time, these technologies raise concerns about individual privacy, freedom of choice, and institutional discrimination. How do we leverage the benefits of a data-rich society while giving members of our community the confidence of knowing their privacy is protected? How can we address pressing local problems — from housing to highways, potholes to policing — and deliver public services in equitable, privacy-conscious ways?
Working collaboratively with public, private, academic, and civil society leaders, FPF builds tools and best practices to guide how cities and local communities collect, manage, and use personal data to improve services for individuals. A cornerstone of this work is FPF’s Civic Privacy Leaders Network, a peer network supported by the National Science Foundation that brings together privacy leaders from 30+ local governments across the U.S. and Canada to navigate emerging privacy issues, share practical guidance, and promote fair and transparent data practices.
Visit the Smart Communities Resources web page for a comprehensive list of FPF’s ongoing work in this area.
BCI Commercial and Government Use: Gaming, Education, Employment, and More
This post is the third in a four-part series on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), providing an overview of the technology, use cases, privacy risks, and proposed recommendations for promoting privacy and mitigating risks associated with BCIs. Click here for FPF and IBM’s full report: Privacy and the Connected Mind. In case you missed them, read the […]
Five Top of Mind Data Protection Recommendations for Brain-Computer Interfaces
By Jeremy Greenberg, [email protected] and Katelyn Ringrose [email protected]. Key FPF-curated background resources – policy & regulatory documents, academic papers, and technical analyses regarding brain-computer interfaces are available here. Recently, Elon Musk livestreamed an update for Neuralink—his startup centered around creating brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). BCIs are an umbrella term for devices that detect, amplify, and translate […]
Sidewalk Labs Releases Detailed Plans for Collaboration with City of Toronto on Quayside Smart City Project, Including Proposed Privacy and Data Protection Framework
By: Suzie Allen Experts Highlight Data Protection Safeguards, Opportunities, and Risks “Master Innovation and Development Plan” will be Vetted by City Residents, Officials Last week, Sidewalk Labs unveiled its proposed “Master Innovation and Development Plan” (MIDP) for Sidewalk Toronto, a project that would design a smart city district in Toronto’s Eastern Waterfront. The proposal will […]
Smart Communities: A Conversation with Kelsey Finch
One of FPF Policy Counsel Kelsey Finch’s areas of focus is Smart Communities, a field which draws from many of FPF’s issue areas. From her Seattle office, she has the opportunity to do hands-on work with cities in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, she worked with city officials on Seattle’s first Open Data Risk Assessment, […]
IoT Devices Should Deal with Privacy Impacts for People with Disabilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 31, 2019 IoT Devices Should Deal with Privacy Impacts for People with Disabilities FPF Recommends Approaches to Incorporate Privacy, Accessibility by Design WASHINGTON, DC – The Future of Privacy Forum today released The Internet of Things (IoT) and People with Disabilities: Exploring the Benefits, Challenges, and Privacy Tensions. This paper explores […]
FPF Publishes Model Open Data Benefit-Risk Analysis
This Report first describes inherent privacy risks in an open data landscape, with an emphasis on potential harms related to re-identification, data quality, and fairness. To address these risks, the Report includes a Model Open Data Benefit-Risk Analysis (“Model Analysis”). The Model Analysis evaluates the types of data contained in a proposed open dataset, the potential benefits – and concomitant risks – of releasing the dataset publicly, and strategies for effective de-identification and risk mitigation.
New Future of Privacy Forum Study Finds the City of Seattle’s Open Data Program a National Leader in Privacy Program Management
Today, the Future of Privacy Forum released its City of Seattle Open Data Risk Assessment. The Assessment provides tools and guidance to the City of Seattle and other municipalities navigating the complex policy, operational, technical, organizational, and ethical standards that support privacy-protective open data programs.
Examining the Open Data Movement
The transparency goals of the open data movement serve important social, economic, and democratic functions in cities like Seattle. At the same time, some municipal datasets about the city and its citizens’ activities carry inherent risks to individual privacy when shared publicly. In 2016, the City of Seattle declared in its Open Data Policy that the city’s data would be “open by preference,” except when doing so may affect individual privacy.[1] To ensure its Open Data Program effectively protects individuals, Seattle committed to performing an annual risk assessment and tasked the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) with creating and deploying an initial privacy risk assessment methodology for open data.
Public comments on proposed Open Data Risk Assessment for the City of Seattle
FPF requested feedback from the public on its proposed Draft Open Data Risk Assessment for the City of Seattle. In 2016, the City of Seattle declared in its Open Data Policy that the city’s data would be “open by preference,” except when doing so may affect individual privacy. To ensure its Open Data program effectively protects individuals, Seattle committed to performing an annual risk assessment and tasked FPF with creating and deploying an initial privacy risk assessment methodology for open data.
Upcoming Future of Privacy Forum Events
In the coming months, FPF will be hosting or co-hosting a number of events. We welcome your attendance and participation. Please contact us at [email protected] for further information.