Artificial Intelligence and the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Brenda Leong and Dr. Sara Jordan Machine learning-based technologies are playing a substantial role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts are using machine learning to study the virus, test potential treatments, diagnose individuals, analyze the public health impacts, and more. Below, we describe some of the leading efforts and identify data protection […]
European Union’s Data-Based Policy Against the Pandemic, Explained
Benefitting from a mature and largely harmonized data protection legal framework, the European Union and its Member States are taking policymaking steps towards a pan-European approach to enlisting data and technology against the spread of COVID-19 and to support the gradual restarting of the economy. Here is an overview of key recent events essential to […]
ICYMI: FPF Experts Raise Concerns about Protecting Student Privacy During Rapid Switch to Online Learning
Experts from the Future of Privacy Forum, the nation’s leading think tank focused on advancing responsible consumer privacy practices, have spoken out in numerous articles and publications to raise awareness about privacy concerns stemming from the rapid adoption of general-use technologies to support online learning at K-12 and higher education institutions nationwide. As FPF’s Director […]
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 […]
A Closer Look at Location Data: Privacy and Pandemics
In this series, Privacy and Pandemics, the Future of Privacy Forum explores the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis to existing ethical, privacy, and data protection frameworks, and will seek to provide information and guidance to companies and researchers interested in responsible data sharing to support public health response. Future posts will examine pandemic-tracking mobile […]
A Closer Look at Genetic Data Privacy and Nondiscrimination in 2020
Florida lawmakers recently introduced HB 1189/SB 1564 – a bill that would prohibit life and long-term care insurers from basing coverage and rates or denying coverage based on individuals’ genetic information. Washington State lawmakers are considering a bill, HB 2485, that would prohibit life insurance companies and others from obtaining individuals’ genetic information from direct-to-consumer […]
Close to the Finish Line: Observations on the Washington Privacy Act
By: Stacey Gray and Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna * We wrote last week that Washington State seems poised to become the second US state to pass a major comprehensive privacy bill. The proposed Washington Privacy Act (WPA) would be mostly aligned with the EU’s GDPR, the global gold standard for data protection (although there are still some […]
A New U.S. Model for Privacy? Comparing the Washington Privacy Act to GDPR, CCPA, and More
By Stacey Gray, Pollyanna Sanderson, and Katelyn Ringrose Download a printable version of this report (pdf). As Congress continues to work toward drafting and passing a comprehensive national privacy law, state legislators are not slowing down. In Washington State, a new comprehensive privacy law is moving quickly: last week, the Washington Privacy Act (SSB 6281) […]
Privacy Papers 2019: Spotlight on the Winning Authors
FPF recently announced the winners of the 10th Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers (PPPM) Award. This Award recognizes leading privacy scholarship that is relevant to policymakers in the United States Congress, at U.S. federal agencies, and for data protection authorities abroad. From many nominated privacy-related papers published in the last year, five were selected by Finalist […]
ICYMI: FPF Webinar Examines Policies to Protect Child Privacy Online
FPF experts share updates on the “evolving space” of child privacy