Health

While the legislative process for COVID-related data is advancing, the business and platform standards for apps are falling in place. Rules for All COVID Apps In response to the coronavirus pandemic, developers are rushing to create applications to support healthcare systems, spread awareness in the community, guide epidemiological research, and mitigate the spread. Apple and […]

Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) published an infographic, “The World of Geolocation Data” that outlines how location data is generated from mobile devices, who has access to it, and factors to consider in evaluating privacy risks. Data from our mobile devices, including smartphones and fitness trackers, can serve as a proxy for where […]

As a privacy expert, if my local health department develops a mobile app for people with a COVID diagnosis to alert anyone they were near, will I use it? Yes, I will. And I will urge friends, neighbors and colleagues to download such an app. I have an immuno-compromised family member in my household. I am […]

By Pollyanna Sanderson (Policy Counsel), Stacey Gray (Senior Policy Counsel) & Katelyn Ringrose (Christopher Wolf Diversity Law Fellow) Yesterday afternoon, leading House and Senate Democrats introduced the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act. The Democratic-led bill, which was introduced by Senators Blumenthal and Warner, as well as Representatives Eshoo, Schakowsky and DelBene, follows the May 10th […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Experts from the Future of Privacy Forum, the nation’s leading think tank focused on advancing responsible consumer privacy practices, have spoken out in numerous articles and publications to raise awareness about privacy concerns stemming from the rapid adoption of general-use technologies to support online learning at K-12 and higher education institutions nationwide. As FPF’s Director […]

Data protection law is different than “privacy”. We, data protection lawyers, have been complacent recently and have failed to clarify this loud and clear for the general public. Perhaps happy to finally see this field of law taking the front stage of public debate through the GDPR, we have not stopped anyone from saying that […]

Multiple apps and software development kits (SDK) have been deployed to help both private and public entities tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to better understand these technologies, the Future of Privacy Forum has created a comparison chart to contrast the objectives and methods of specific apps and SDKs. The chart compares relevant privacy and […]