
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.

From cross-border transfers to privacy engineering, check out all panels and events FPF will be a part of at CPDP2018
Computers Privacy and Data Protection conference (CPDP) kicks off this week in Brussels, and the theme this year is “The Internet of Bodies”. The conference will gather 400 speakers for 80 panels to set the stage for the privacy and data protection conversation in Europe for 2018. And this is such an important year for data protection – not only the General Data Protection Regulation becomes applicable in May, but also the text of the new ePrivacy Regulation will likely be finalized.

New US Dept of Ed Finding: Schools Cannot Require Parents or Students to Waive Their FERPA Rights Through Ed Tech Company’s Terms of Service
Policymakers, parents, and privacy advocates have long asked whether FERPA is up to the task of protecting student privacy in the 21st century. A just-released letter regarding the Agora Cyber Charter School might signal that a FERPA compliance crack-down – frequently mentioned as their next step after providing extensive guidance by the U.S. Department of Education (USED) employees at conferences throughout 2017 – has begun. The Agora letter provides crucial guidance to schools and ed tech companies about how USED interprets FERPA’s requirements regarding parental consent and ed tech products’ terms of service, and it may predict USED’s enforcement priorities going forward.

The Top 10: Student Privacy News (October-November 2017)
The Future of Privacy Forum tracks student privacy news very closely, and shares relevant news stories with our newsletter subscribers. Approximately every month, we post “The Top 10,” a blog with our top student privacy stories.

Understanding Corporate Data Sharing Decisions: Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities for Sharing Corporate Data with Researchers
Today, the Future of Privacy Forum released a new study, Understanding Corporate Data Sharing Decisions: Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities for Sharing Corporate Data with Researchers. In this report, we aim to contribute to the literature by seeking the “ground truth” from the corporate sector about the challenges they encounter when they consider making data available for academic research. We hope that the impressions and insights gained from this first look at the issue will help formulate further research questions, inform the dialogue between key stakeholders, and identify constructive next steps and areas for further action and investment.

New Study: Companies are Increasingly Making Data Accessible to Academic Researchers, but Opportunities Exist for Greater Collaboration
Washington, DC – Today, the Future of Privacy Forum released a new study, Understanding Corporate Data Sharing Decisions: Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities for Sharing Corporate Data with Researchers. In this report, FPF reveals findings from research and interviews with experts in the academic and industry communities. Three main areas are discussed: 1) The extent to which leading companies make data available to support published research that contributes to public knowledge; 2) Why and how companies share data for academic research; and 3) The risks companies perceive to be associated with such sharing, as well as their strategies for mitigating those risks.

TEDx Wilmington: What's Driving the Connected Car? Data, It Turns Out.
On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, Lauren Smith, FPF Policy Counsel, presented at the TEDx Wilmington Salon, Who’s in the Driver’s Seat? The Transformation of Transportation. The TEDx included an exciting line up of the leading voices in the connected car space, including FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen.

Law Enforcement Access to Student Records: What Is the Law?
Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) released “Law Enforcement Access to Student Records: A Guide for School Administrators & Ed Tech Service Providers,” written by Amelia Vance and Sarah Williamson. This guide helps to answer some of the basic questions that we have heard from key stakeholders about law enforcement access to data over the past nine months.

Study: EU-US Privacy Shield Essential to Leading European Companies
The Future of Privacy Forum conducted a study of the companies enrolled in the US-EU Privacy Shield program and determined that 114 European headquartered companies are active Privacy Shield Participants. These European companies rely on the program to transfer data to their US subsidiaries or to essential vendors that support their business needs.

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.