Artificial Intelligence and the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Brenda Leong and Dr. Sara Jordan Machine learning-based technologies are playing a substantial role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts are using machine learning to study the virus, test potential treatments, diagnose individuals, analyze the public health impacts, and more. Below, we describe some of the leading efforts and identify data protection […]
European Union’s Data-Based Policy Against the Pandemic, Explained
Benefitting from a mature and largely harmonized data protection legal framework, the European Union and its Member States are taking policymaking steps towards a pan-European approach to enlisting data and technology against the spread of COVID-19 and to support the gradual restarting of the economy. Here is an overview of key recent events essential to […]
Privacy & Pandemics Virtual Workshop: The Role of Mobile Apps
The Future of Privacy Forum and the Israel Tech Policy Institute recently convened a briefing with experts from government, academia, and leading companies about the use of mobile apps related to the COVID-19 public health crisis, and how data protection and ethics can be managed when sensitive health and location data are collected. The briefing […]
FPF Provides Senate Testimony on Strategies to Mitigate Privacy Risks of Using Data to Combat COVID-19
Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) Senior Counsel Stacey Gray today provided the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with written testimony, including recommendations based on how experts in the U.S. and around the world are currently mitigating the risks of using data to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. “The collection and use of data, including personal […]
Privacy and Pandemics
Global leaders are increasingly relying on information about individuals and communities to fight the spread of COVID-19 and respond to its economic, political, social, and health impacts. Time is of the essence, and leaders must quickly navigate essential questions about what personal information they will collect or disclose, to whom, and under what conditions. It […]
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 […]
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 […]
ICYMI: New Senate Legislation Mandates “Pervasive Surveillance” in Attempt to Improve School Safety
Bill would require schools nationwide to impose network monitoring technology “before there is any clear evidence that it’s effective in preventing violence.”
COPPA Workshop Takeaways
On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public workshop focused on potential updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule. The workshop follows a July 25, 2019 notice of rule review and call for public comments regarding COPPA rule reform. The comment period remains open until December 9th. Senior FTC officials […]
Digital Deep Fakes
The media has recently labeled manipulated videos of people “deepfakes,” a portmanteau of “deep learning” and “fake,” on the assumption that AI-based software is behind them all. But the technology behind video manipulation is not all based on deep learning (or any form of AI), and what are lumped together as deepfakes actually differ depending on the particular technology used. So while the example videos above were all doctored in some way, they were not all altered using the same technological tools, and the risks they pose – particularly as to being identifiable as fake – may vary.