Celebrate Data Privacy Day Today and Focus on Personal Data Protection Year-Round

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a non-profit public-private partnership focused on helping all digital citizens stay safer and more secure online, is officially kicking-off Data Privacy Day today along with Federal Trade Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen and other privacy and security experts from AT&T, Facebook, Intel, MasterCard, Microsoft and the federal government during a forum at The George Washington University Law School from 8-11:30 a.m. ET. The event will be broadcast via Facebook Live from 8:30-11:30 a.m. ET at: http://bit.ly/privacyday2013.

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The forum will explore respecting privacy, safeguarding data, privacy innovation and the implications for personal information in the digital age and the mobile environment. Daniel Solove, John Marshall Harlan Research Professor of Law at The George Washington University School of Law, is the host of the event.

Data Privacy Day is celebrated across the United States, Canada, Council of Europe member countries, and a host of other countries across the globe. The day constitutes an international collaboration and nationwide effort to educate and raise awareness about data privacy, stewardship of data and protecting the privacy of personal information.

For the past five years, the U.S. Senate has designated January 28^th as National Data Privacy Day. Again this year, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) is sponsoring a Senate resolution to encourage more people nationwide to be aware of data privacy and take all necessary steps to prevent data loss and respect privacy. The resolution calls on state and local governments, educators, privacy professionals, and corporations to observe the day with appropriate activities and initiatives that raise awareness about data privacy protection.

"Data Privacy Day highlights a year-round effort for all of us to improve measures to protect our personal data," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). "We want all digital citizens to feel like they have a choice in how their data is being collected, stored, and consumed and that starts with being educated about the privacy policies of online companies and Web properties. As society increasingly becomes more wired, it's imperative we understand how to best protect our data."

To mark Data Privacy Day 2013, Microsoft Corp. has also released new data reflecting consumers' perceptions about how their information is used online. A main finding of the survey, which polled 1,000 American adults, is that forty-five percent said they have little or no control over the personal information companies gather about them while they are browsing the Web or using online services – such as photo-sharing, travel or gaming. More information about the survey and a series of short videos called "Privacy in Action" is available at: http://www.microsoft.com/yourprivacy.

Also in conjunction with Data Privacy Day, an updated edition of the best-selling digital citizenship book lol...OMG!, by Matt Ivester, tailored specially for high school students will be available for FREE download from Amazon until 11:59 p.m. PT on January 29^th. lol…OMG! empowers students to clean up and maintain a positive online presence and to become responsible digital citizens. Intel and Reed Elsevier are underwriting the promotion. The free download of the book is available at: http://www.lolomgfree.com/.

For anyone interested in getting involved with Data Privacy Day in other ways, the Web portal offers tips and resources for parents, teachers, educators, businesses and others at: http://www.staysafeonline.org/dpd. Keep pace of Data Privacy Day happenings on Facebook and Twitter at: https://www.facebook.com/DataPrivacyNCSA and www.twitter.com/DataPrivacyDay and the DPD Twitter hashtag is #DPD13.

About Data Privacy Day
Led by the National Cyber Security Alliance, Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. The Day commemorates the 1981 signing of Convention 108 – the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection.  Intel is a Platinum sponsor of Data Privacy Day. Gold sponsors include AT&T, Facebook, Microsoft and Google. Intuit, MasterCard and The George Washington University Law School are Silver sponsors and Reputation.com is a Small Business Sponsor.

About The National Cyber Security Alliance
The National Cyber Security Alliance is a non-profit organization. Through collaboration with the government, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors, the mission of the NCSA is to educate and empower a digital citizenry to use the Internet securely and safely. NCSA board members include: ADP, AT&T, Bank of America, EMC Corporation, ESET, Facebook, Google, Intel, McAfee, Microsoft, PayPal, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Symantec, Trend Micro, Verizon and Visa.

SOURCE National Cyber Security Alliance