Cross-Device: Understanding the State of State Management
On Friday, October 16, the Future of Privacy Forum filed comments with the FTC in advance of the FTC’s Cross Device Workshop on Nov. 16, 2015. Jules Polonetsky and Stacey Gray have prepared a report, Cross-Device: Understanding the State of State Management, based on revisions to FPF’s comments filed with the FTC on October 16th, that aims to describe […]
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 […]
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 …
NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Proposal Raises Privacy Concerns for Apps
On Monday, the Future of Privacy Forum joined with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee/Defending Dissent Foundation, Center for Democracy & Technology, The Constitution Project, and Electronic Frontier Foundation to write the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) about its proposed rules regarding For-Hire Vehicle dispatch apps. We were especially concerned with the requirement that […]
White House Return to Big Data Focuses on Price Discrimination
Today, the White House released an interim progress report detailing the Administration’s efforts on privacy in big data since its landmark report last spring. The update highlights the President’s recent calls for new privacy legislation, including efforts on student privacy and the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, and also calls for deeper understanding of differential […]
De-Identification: A Critical Debate
Ann Cavoukian and Dan Castro recently published a report titled Big Data and Innovation, Setting the Record Straight: De-Identification Does Work. Arvind Narayanan and Edward Felten wrote a critique of this report, which they highlighted on Freedom to Tinker. Today Khaled El Emam and Luk Arbuckle respond on the FPF blog with this guest post. […]
Making Perfect De-Identification the Enemy of Good De-Identification
This week, Ann Cavoukian and Dan Castro waded into the de-identification debate with a new whitepaper, arguing that the risk of re-identification has been greatly exaggerated and that de-identification will play a central role in the age of big data. FPF has repeatedly called for the need for informed conversations about what practical de-identification requires, […]
Wall Street Journal: MLA-Driven Approach to Airport Wait Times
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal published an article about long lines at U.S. customs in airports around the country, and what airlines are doing to shorten them. They include a spreadsheet where you can see the kind information that’s been collected thanks to Mobile Location Analytics (“MLA”) technology. This is just one example of […]
Big Data and Privacy: Making Ends Meet Conference
Solutions to many pressing economic and societal challenges may be found in better understanding data, from safer cities to cleaner air, but as the amount and variety of data collection continues to increase, our data-driven society also poses serious concerns about infringements on privacy. The need for a way forward is evident, and both corporate […]
Swimming in the Big Data Ocean
Even as it promises breakthroughs in healthcare, the environment, and how individuals understand the world, Big Data may also be a powerful tool in the national security space. On Wednesday, the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, along with the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law, launched their first symposium by addressing […]