Comments after the FTC Workshop on Big Data: Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?
Today, FPF filed an additional set of comments in the wake of the FTC’s fall workshop, Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion? The comments focus on some of the challenges around defining what exactly “Big Data” is, and the increasing need to have a firmer ethical framework for having conversations about data use. […]
Beacons Help Blind Travelers Navigate Airport
San Francisco Airport is testing a beacon system to help blind travelers navigate around one of its new terminals. Working with beacon company Indoo.rs, SFO has set up hundreds of beacons all over the …
Google Taps the YubiKey for Better Account Security
With identity theft and cybersecurity issues in the news seemingly on a daily basis, better tools to protect our data – and our privacy – are always welcome. For some time, FPF has endorsed the use of two-factor authentication as an “extra” step consumers can take to protect their accounts across a variety of online services. While everyone at FPF uses […]
"Databuse" as the Future of Privacy?
Is “privacy” such a broad concept as to be meaningless from a legal and policy perspective? On Tuesday, October 14th, the Center for Democracy & Technology hosted a conversation with Benjamin Wittes and Wells Bennett, frequently of the national security blog, Lawfare, to discuss their recent scholarship on “databuse” and the scope of corporate responsibilities […]
Promoting Innovation, and Protecting Privacy in the Classroom
Today, FPF announces the release of two new student privacy related papers. They are: Who Is Reading Whom Now: Privacy in Education from Books to MOOCs (Jules Polonetsky and Omer Tene (October 7, 2014), Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2507044) and, Student Data: Trust, Transparency and the Role of […]
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy blog
We are pleased to see the White House Office of Science and Technology take note of the Student Privacy Pledge. Read more at Promoting Innovation and …
K-12 Student Privacy Pledge Announced
Today Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) provided the following press release. Additional FPF Resources and Publications on this topic are listed …
Do Beacons Track You? No, You Track Beacons
BuzzFeed News today reports that phone booths in NYC are tracking people and can send them ads. Let’s explain this rapidly spreading new technology we often see described inaccurately. First, let’s step back and understand how your phone or apps on your phone that you grant permission to access your location are able to […]
Facebook Moves Forward with an Ethics Review Panel
Jules and Omer opine in the Hill on today’s announcement from Facebook, commenting about the “essential accountability mechanism for companies that are struggling to balance the risks and opportunities of big data.” The Hill “Facebook’s announcement — establishing guidelines, review processes, training and enhanced transparency for research projects — marks another milestone in the emergence […]
CDT's "Always On" – the Digital Student
FPF attended the “Always On – Digital Student” forum hosted by the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Data Quality Campaign on September 24, 2014. The Digital Student Challenge Jon Phillips of Dell opened the session with a challenge that we need to change the learning process as well as change how we measure […]