Future of Privacy Forum Releases 2011 Edition of "Privacy Papers for Policy Makers"

Highlights Leading Privacy Writings for Hill and Agencies To Consider When Addressing Privacy Concerns

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) released the newest edition of its Privacy Papers for Policy Makers.  This year's compilation highlights leading privacy writings voted by the FPF Advisory Board to be most useful for policy makers on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies who are focusing on how to improve the protection of personal privacy.  The writings cover a wide array of topics, including recommendations on how to reform notice and choice to empower consumer control over the collection and use of their data; understanding and valuing the use of personal identifiable information and explaining the benefits of "online obscurity."

The publication of Privacy Papers was made possible with support from Microsoft and AT&T.

The 2011 Privacy Papers for Policy Makers are:

Accountability as the Basis for Regulating Privacy: Can Information Security Regulations Inform Privacy Policy? Mary J. Culnan
Against Notice Skepticism (Forthcoming, 87 Notre Dame Law Review – 2010) Ryan Calo
The Case for Online Obscurity Woodrow Hartzog and Frederic Stutzman
Dispelling the Myths Surrounding De-Identification: Anonymization Remains a Strong Tool for Protecting Privacy (Seen in the Canadian Law Review, vol. 8, no. 9, August 2011) Dr. Ann Cavoukian and Khaled El Emam
The Failure of Online Social Network Privacy Settings Michelle Madejski, Maritza Johnson and Steven Bellovin
The PII Problem: Privacy and a New Concept of Personally Identifiable Information Paul M. Schwartz and Daniel J. Solove
Notable Mentions:
"Flash Cookies and Privacy II: Now with HTML5 and ETag Respawning" Chris Hoofnagle, Mika Ayenson, Deitrich James Wambach, Ashkan Soltani and Nathan Good
"Regulating Privacy by Design" Ira S. Rubinstein

Christopher Wolf, FPF's founder and co-Chair commented on the significance of the Privacy Papers for Policy Makers publication, "The feedback that we received from Capitol Hill and other federal agencies after publishing our first edition of this publication demonstrated it was an integral resource for policymaker as they explored the myriad privacy issues confronting the public.  With that in mind, we are confident that the papers featured in this year's edition will enlighten leaders with the insights of prominent privacy scholars."  

Privacy issues have made headlines in recent months with revelations of unconsented –to online tracking of consumers, with news about mobile device privacy concerns, and with new privacy laws being proposed on Capitol Hill.

FPF's director and co-chair, Jules Polonetsky, emphasized the benefit of a dialogue between privacy scholars and those making the nation's privacy laws.  "There's no silver bullet to resolving all of the privacy concerns the public has in this new technological age.  These writings offer some of the most compelling and innovative viewpoints that we hope policymakers consider as they look to address privacy issues."

The works featured and digested were selected by members of the Advisory Board of the Future of Privacy Forum (scholars, privacy advocates and Chief Privacy Officers) based on criteria emphasizing clarity, practicality and overall utility. Two of the papers were selected by the chairpersons of the annual Privacy Law Scholars Conference (PLSC)  to receive the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) award for the best papers presented at the 2011 PLSC event in Berkeley, CA, last June.

To see the full text of the papers and the executive summaries of the writings visit
www.futureofprivacy.org/the-privacy-papers/

Privacy Papers for Policy Makers Launch: A reception celebrating the launch will be held tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the W Hotel, 515 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC.  To attend, please rsvp to [email protected]

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) is a Washington, DC based think tank that seeks to advance responsible data practices. The forum is led by Internet privacy experts Jules Polonetsky and Christopher Wolf and includes an advisory board comprised of leading figures from industry, academia, law and advocacy groups. FPF was launched in November 2008.

SOURCE Future of Privacy Forum