
Privacy Scholarship Research Reporter: Issue 5, July 2020 – Preserving Privacy in Machine Learning: New Research on Data and Model Privacy
Notes from FPF In this edition of the “Privacy Scholarship Reporter”, we build on the general knowledge from the first two and then explore some of the technical research being conducted to achieve ethical and privacy goals. “Is it possible to preserve privacy in the age of AI?”, is a provocative question asked by academic […]

Polonetsky: Are the Online Programs Your Child’s School Uses Protecting Student Privacy? Some Things to Look For
Op-ed by Future of Privacy Forum CEO Jules Polonetsky published in The74. As CEO of a global data protection nonprofit, I spend my workdays focused on helping policymakers and companies navigate new technologies and digital security concerns that have emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, my children have adopted many of these […]

Endgame Issues: New Brookings Report on Paths to Federal Privacy Legislation
Authors: Stacey Gray, Senior Counsel (US Legislation and Policymaker Education), Polly Sanderson, Policy Counsel This afternoon, The Brookings Institution released a new report, Bridging the gaps: A path forward to federal privacy legislation, a comprehensive analysis of the most challenging obstacles to Congress passing a comprehensive federal privacy law. The report includes a detailed range […]

Thermal Imaging as Pandemic Exit Strategy: Limitations, Use Cases and Privacy Implications
Authors: Hannah Schaller, Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna, and Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup Around the world, governments, companies, and other entities are either using or planning to rely on thermal imaging as an integral part of their strategy to reopen economies. The announced purpose of using this technology is to detect potential cases of COVID-19 and filter out individuals in […]

Bipartisan Privacy Bill Would Govern Exposure Notification Services
Authors: Stacey Gray, Senior Counsel; Katelyn Ringrose, Christopher Wolf Diversity Law Fellow; and Polly Sanderson, Policy Counsel Yesterday, Senators Cantwell (D-WA), Cassidy (R-LA), and Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced a new COVID-19 data protection bill, the Exposure Notification Privacy Act, which would create legal limits for “automated exposure notification services.” The bill comes on the heels of […]

Close to the Finish Line: Observations on the Washington Privacy Act
By: Stacey Gray and Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna * We wrote last week that Washington State seems poised to become the second US state to pass a major comprehensive privacy bill. The proposed Washington Privacy Act (WPA) would be mostly aligned with the EU’s GDPR, the global gold standard for data protection (although there are still some […]

Youth & Education Project Media Mentions
Refreshing staff on FERPA essential as districts implement COVID-19 screening, Education Dive, Shawna De La Rosa, July 20, 2020 Explainer: How the U.S. Seeks to Protect Children’s Privacy Online, Reuters, July 8, 2020 Online learning hiccups lead to civil liberties threats, The Hill, Williamson N. Evers and Jonathan Hofer, July 7, 2020 Facial recognition in Lockport […]

Youth & Education Project Speaking Engagements and Hosted Events
Date Event Staff Member 6/09/2020 Virtual Panel, “Children’s Privacy: A Look Ahead,” at American Bar Association’s Virtual Spring Meeting Amelia Vance 6/04/2020 Virtual Panel, “Privacy Today,” at The Software & Information Industry Association’s Virtual Ed Tech Industry Conference Anisha Reddy 5/28/2020 Webinar, “Protecting learner data, privacy and security in the global shift to online learning,” […]

Starting Point for Negotiation: An Analysis of Senate Democratic Leadership’s Landmark Comprehensive Privacy Bill
Today, Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), joined by top Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee – Senators Markey, Schatz and Klobuchar – introduced a new comprehensive federal privacy bill, the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act (COPRA). The bill is consistent with the Senate Democratic leadership positions announced last week and comes in advance of a December 4th Senate Commerce Committee hearing convened by Senator Wicker (R-Miss), Examining Legislative Proposals to Protect Consumer Data Privacy.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Genetic Testing Kit on Black Friday
By Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup and Katelyn Ringrose On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, millions of consumers will hurry to their nearest doorbuster sale or boot up their favorite sales portal to buy a price-slashed consumer genetic testing kit. Some genetic testing kits will be up to half off this year, and the market as a whole […]