U.S. Legislation

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. New America has released an ethical framework to help colleges use predictive analytics to benefit students (this report follows their previous report […]

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 387). The bill updates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the law that sets standards for government access to private internet communications. Although ECPA was forward-thinking for its time, the developments of technology and communications in the 30 years since its passage have greatly surpassed its scope and the effectiveness of its policy direction.

Yesterday, Congress introduced the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 387), which would update protections in the Electronic Communications Act (ECPA) to take account of citizens’ evolving use of technology and better align the law with consumers’ reasonable expectations of privacy in the contents of their email communications.

Today, Senator Nelson’s office released a report outlining several privacy and security implications of “connected toys” that the office identified based on conversations with six major toy manufacturers. The report emphasizes the unique sensitivity of children’s personal information; urges toymakers to build privacy and security into their toys from the inception; and suggests that the FTC has authority to monitor and bring enforcement actions under Section 5 and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) filed its report, Always On: Privacy Implications of Microphone-Enabled Devices, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to the Commission’s request for public comments regarding the privacy implications of Smart TVs. On December 7, 2016, the FTC will be holding a Smart TV Workshop to explore the intricacies of tracking technologies and best practices for addressing consumer privacy on entertainment systems.

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law) held a hearing to explore the FCC’s proposed privacy rules regulating Broadband Internet Access Service providers (a subset of Internet Service Providers, or ISPs).

As the volume of consumer data grows, an increasing number of decisions previously made by humans are now made by algorithms. Many thought leaders have called for algorithmic transparency to ensure that these decisions aren’t leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes, but algorithmic transparency is tricky to implement. Last December, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill acknowledged […]

Recently, the ACLU, in partnership with the Tenth Amendment Center, created model legislation for states to “take control of their privacy in a digital age.” On January 20th, 2016 the ACLU coordinated with legislators in 16 states and the District of Columbia to roll out a variety of privacy bills simultaneously, many of which addressed […]

This week the FTC released a report exploring the use of Big Data analytics. The 33-page document, Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion? Understanding the Issues, is based on the FTC’s Big Data Workshop on September 17, 2014. The report outlines some of the benefits and risks of Big Data use, and surveys the existing […]

On November 5, the Future of Privacy Forum and Washington & Lee University School of Law co-hosted a panel on the Future of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The Federal Trade Commission Act permits the agency to bring civil enforcement actions under Section 5 against companies who engage in “unfair or deceptive trade practices.” […]