Future of Privacy Forum Comment Regarding Senator Bill Nelson's Report, “Children's Connected Toys: Data Security and Privacy Concerns”
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).
Examining the Privacy Implications of Smart TVs
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.
Comprehensive Online Tracking is Not Unique to ISPs
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).
Algorithmic transparency: Examining from within and without
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 […]
States and the District of Columbia Introduce ACLU Sponsored Legislation to Address Student Privacy
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 […]
FTC Releases Report on Benefits and Risks of Big Data
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 […]
Panelists Debated Materiality and Privacy Harms under the FTC’s Section 5
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.” […]
FTC's Cross Device Workshop to be held on Monday, Nov. 16th
On Monday, the FTC will be holding a workshop on cross-device tracking: how and why the advertising and marketing industries are using emerging technologies to track individual users across platforms and devices. The Future of Privacy Forum is releasing a helpful new report to understanding these technologies, entitled Cross Device: Understanding the State of State […]
FPF Panel will Shine Light on FTC's Authority
Data privacy and security regulators don’t always agree. That’s no surprise to those observing the discussions that have followed the European Court of Justice’s decision to invalidate the adequacy of the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor framework. But the disputes aren’t always global. Sometimes regulators from the same country, working in the same agency, disagree about how to […]
Cross-Device: Understanding the State of State Management
On Friday, October 16, the Future of Privacy Forum filed comments with the FTC in advance of the FTC’s Cross Device Workshop on Nov. 16, 2015. Jules Polonetsky and Stacey Gray have prepared a report, Cross-Device: Understanding the State of State Management, based on revisions to FPF’s comments filed with the FTC on October 16th, that aims to describe […]