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Last week, we launched The Israel Tech Policy Institute, an incubator for tech policy leadership and scholarship, advancing ethical practices in support of emerging technologies. Co-founded by Jules Polonetsky, CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, and Omer Tene, an Israeli law professor and VP and Chief Knowledge Office at the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Israel Technology Policy Institute is a new think tank established to provoke, convene and lead policy discussions and support research on privacy, cybersecurity and ethical use of technologies.

In the world of consumer privacy, including the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile data, and advertising technologies (“Ad Tech”), it can often be difficult to measure real-world impact and conceptualize individual harms and benefits. Fortunately, academic researchers are increasingly focusing on these issues, leading to impressive scholarship from institutions such as the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP), Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science, UC Berkeley School of Information, and many others, including non-profits and think tanks.

Amelia Vance, FPF’s Director of Education Privacy, spoke today at the Federal Commission on Student Safety’s Listening Session. She asked that any Commission recommendations include the need for privacy “guardrails” around school safety measures to ensure that student privacy and equity are protected.

FPF held the Third Annual Tech Lab Open House Monday, March 26, 2018, at our offices in Washington, D.C. The Tech Lab Open House provided an opportunity for us to host Privacy Commissioners and FPF members who were in town for the International Association of Privacy Professional’s Global Privacy Summit. The event also provided a rare occasion for policy makers, regulators, and thought leaders to interact with the latest in privacy-impacting gadgets and new technologies.

We are pleased to see Facebook’s response, but are looking forward to understanding how to best address the broader issues for all stakeholders.  These issues are important to discuss – they are not going away.

This article examines the potential for bias and discrimination in automated algorithmic decision-making. As a group of commentators recently asserted, “[t]he accountability mechanisms and legal standards that govern such decision processes have not kept pace with technology.” Yet this article rejects an approach that depicts every algorithmic process as a “black box” that is inevitably plagued by bias and potential injustice.

CES 2018 brought to light many exciting advancements in consumer technologies. Without a doubt, Smart TVs, Smart Homes, and voice assistants were dominant: LG has a TV that rolls up like a poster; Philips introduced a Google Assistant-enabled TV is designed for the kitchen; and Samsung revealed its new line of refrigerators, TVs, and other home devices powered by Bixby, their intelligent voice assistant.

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.

The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) released its 2018 Code of Conduct yesterday, consolidating the rules for online and mobile behavioral advertising (interest-based advertising). NAI, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC, is the leading self-regulatory association for digital advertising, with over 100 members and a formalized internal review mechanism.

FPF offers up-and-coming privacy professionals fellowship opportunities, often giving college graduates experience in the privacy world. In this post, we will take a look at some of FPF’s former employees who have gone on to impressive privacy careers.