
Synopsis: Education Privacy Hearing—How Data Mining Threatens Student Privacy
Yesterday, the House of Representatives Education Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and the Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies held a joint hearing to discuss “How Data Mining Threatens Student Privacy.” Four witnesses presented testimony from a number of perspectives: (1) Joel R. Reidenberg, Chair and Professor of […]

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, […]

Seeking Submissions for Privacy Papers for Policy Makers 2014
FPF is pleased to invite privacy scholars, professionals, and others with an interest in privacy issues to submit papers to be considered for inclusion in FPF’s fifth annual edition of “Privacy Papers for Policy Makers.” The purpose of Privacy Papers for Policy Makers is to present policy makers with highlights of important research and analytical […]

Facebook Gives Users More Control With New “Facebook Login”
Today at f8, Facebook announced a new version of “Facebook Login,” the system that allows Facebook users to log into third-party apps and sites with their Facebook account. The new Facebook Login has a number of new and improved privacy controls, which will be very helpful for users seeking to control the information that gets […]

Press Release: EU-US Safe Harbor Essential To Leading European Companies
NEW FPF STUDY DOCUMENTS OVER 150 EUROPEAN COMPANIES PARTICIPATING IN THE US-EU SAFE HARBOR PROGRAM. FROM MAJOR EMPLOYERS SUCH AS ALCATEL LUCENT, ADIDAS, BMW, NOKIA TO FAST-GROWING START-UPS LIKE APP DEVELOPER MIND CANDY, EUROPEAN COMPANIES DEPEND ON EU-US AGREEMENT _____________________________________________________________________________________ The Future of Privacy Forum has conducted a study of the US-EU Safe Harbor program […]

FPF Applauds Department of Commerce For Safe Harbor Website Revision
The Department of Commerce has long listed companies’ participation in the US-EU Safe Harbor program in the Safe Harbor List. Within that list, a significant number of companies are marked with the designation “not current.” As FPF wrote in its paper discussing the Safe Harbor, a company can be listed as “not current” for a […]

FPF In the News: a Big Week for Panels and Privacy
The first week of March brought with it a number of great privacy-related events, some run by the IAPP and some hosted by others (including FPF itself!). Below are links to the many events FPF participated in. Privacy Papers for Policy Makers Launch Event In conjunction with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, FPF presented our fourth […]

White House/MIT Big Data Privacy Workshop Recap
Speaking for everyone snowed-in in DC, White House Counselor John Podesta remarked that “big snow trumped big data,” while on the phone to open the first of the Obama Administration’s three big data and privacy workshops. This first workshop focused on advancing the “start of the art” in technology and practice. While these workshops are ultimately the […]

A “Cutting-Edge” Guide to Privacy For Not-So-“Cutting-Edge” Phones
Now that the New Year is upon us, California’s Do Not Track transparency bill AB 370 is officially in effect. As websites start to disclose in their privacy policies how they respond to Do Not Track signals, it’s helpful to explain a little more about Do Not Track, as well as other options consumers can […]

Tracking Do Not Track: New Ad Network Data Shows That 8 Percent Of Users Have DNT On
Getting Ready For Tracking Transparency Law to Kick In Starting in 2014, California’s new law AB 370 requires all websites that collect personally identifying information to disclose in their privacy policies how they respond to browser Do Not Track signals. FPF has launched AllAboutDNT as a resource for companies preparing to make a statement about […]