Our Top Ten Opt Outs is one of our most popular consumer guides. In it, you can see a short list of the most important privacy opt outs available to you today; we've curated the opt-outs and made things simple so you don't have to wander through a list of ...
At the end of its 2013-14 session, the Supreme Court stood up for privacy in a case involving cell phones. In Riley v. California, the Court held that the police cannot search a cell phone’s contents incident to an arrest without a search warrant. As a result of this ruling, when the police arrest someone, perhaps for a traffic violation, a misdemeanor, or even a serious crime, all information in a cell phone should not be automatically accessible to the police without any further review. Police must obtain a search warrant.
We have updated our popular Top Ten Opt Out list with new links and additional information. From key data brokers to credit cards, If you are wondering where to start to get off of lists and whisk your sensitive information out of circulation, we have distilled the most important opt outs to a manageable size. We have included the key opt outs that we ourselves practice with links and tips.
I was honored to address students at the National Law University, Delhi this past week about privacy in the US and global privacy trends and issues. The talk included a Q and A session, during which the students engaged in a spirited conversation about US policies regarding surveillance and privacy. I enjoyed the session thoroughly. The students asked challenging questions in particular about telecommunications policies and the idea of safety versus privacy and achieving proper balance.
WPF Blog Post Forbes has published a thoughtful article about Big Data, reeling the hype attached to the catchy term back to reality. The article, written by Forbes contributors Woodrow Hartzog and Evan Selinger, outlines why the term Big Data isn't used by people who actually work in Big Data. ...
WPF filed comments today asking The National Institutes of Health to make changes to its draft Genomic Data Sharing Policy for sharing, for research purposes, of large-scale human and nonhuman genomic data. The World Privacy Forum comments focus on human genomic privacy. "We are most concerned in our comments that the NIH find a full range of privacy protections for genomic data to be used for research. We are interested in a full arsenal from encryption to certificates of confidential to civil and criminal penalties for misuse. Consent -- as alluring as the idea is -- cannot by itself carry all of the privacy water," said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum.
Learn to protect mobile users and build safe mobile apps at the Mobile Privacy Summit Oct. 23 in Los Angeles. The office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris and the Federal Trade Commission join WPF's Pam Dixon and other privacy experts to discuss best practices and regulatory requirements you should be aware of to ensure the privacy of mobile app users. Registration is free of charge.
Japan -- Under the mai nannbaa-ho (マイナンバー法) My Number Act (enacted May 13, 2013, also called the Social Benefits and Tax Number Act), Japan's citizens will be assigned unique numbers to track income, social security, taxes, welfare and benefits, and certain information in disasters. Japan will start assigning numbers to its citizens in late 2015. The My Number Act brought with it concern about the use of the numbers as a unique national ID. As a result, Japan will establish a new independent Data Protection Authority called the Specific Personal Information Protection Commission, and will consist of a Chairman and six commission members. The Chairman and Commissioners will be appointed by Japan's Prime Minister, and confirmed by Japan's National Diet. The Commission will oversee the use of the new Social Security and Tax system numbers. Unlike many national ID numbering systems, Japan did not set up a centralized database for the numbers due to concerns about data breach and privacy. Professor Hiroshi Miyashita from Japan's Chuo University, and an Advisor to the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) -- gave a talk Oct. 1 at a Privacy Laws & Business Asia Roundtable in London. He told PL& B that the new Commission is to "ensure the proper handling of personal numbers and other specific personal information, and provide guidance, advice and recommendations." Professor Miyashita said enforcement powers will be limited to requiring reports and conducting on-site inspections. Additional documents regarding the new DPA indicate that there will be a role for the Commission in overseeing release of personal information in disasters, and that the Commission will also issue guidance regarding the use of identifying numbers.
San Diego -- The California AG's office and the US Federal Trade Commission are holding a mobile privacy summit October 23, in Santa Monica, California. The emphasis of the event is to learn how to protect consumers and build safe mobile apps, and is directed at app developers and businesses. ...
San Diego, CA -- The World Privacy Forum is very pleased to announce the publication of a major undertaking, the complete update and revision to our landmark Patient's Guide to HIPAA. The new guide reflects the changes in HIPAA that took effect September 23, 2013. The Patient's Guide to HIPAA is a landmark publication because it is the first and to our knowledge -- only complete guide written expressly for patients. It offers a roadmap through the thicket of dense health privacy laws and rules that many patients have questions about. The purpose of this guide is to help patients understand how to make health privacy laws work to protect their privacy. Longtime World Privacy Forum contributor Bob Gellman is primary author of the Guide, including the new version. Begin exploring the update at the HIPAA Guide Home: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/2013/09/hipaaguidehome/ .
October 2013 – Pam Dixon is speaking at Biometrics 2013 in London with Dr. Joseph Atick and Dr. Emilio Mordini, Director, Centre for Science, Society and Citizenship, Italy. The topic is Privacy at the Cross Road: A Debate on Frameworks. As biometrics become part of our daily lives, the issue of privacy and the protection of personal identifiable information (PII) such as biometric data is beginning to take centre stage. This debate will review the pressing issues with respect to privacy and the role of the biometrics industry in it. The audience will hear the views of prominent privacy experts that will explain what is at stake and why legal frameworks have been difficult to develop so far, and also from industry experts who will give the market perspective and the industry concern regarding the chilling effect of over-reaching privacy legislation. Delegates will also be invited to play an active role in what promises to be an exciting dialogue on the future of privacy and the role of the biometrics industry in it.
How unique are you? We played with a data privacy tool today here at WPF that showed us if the combination of our birthdate and zip code made us statistically unique. The more unique you are, the more identifiable you are in a sea of supposedly "anonymous" data. This tool was developed by Dr. LaTanya Sweeney at Harvard's Data Privacy Lab, and using it will tell you how easily you can be identified from records that may not even have your name on them.
Data breach -- The state of California issues a first-ever statewide data breach report. In 2012, 2.5 million Californians had their data breached. Of those breached, the study found that The report found that "1.4 million Californians would have been protected if companies had encrypted data when moving or sending the data out of the company’s network."
NTIA -- The US Department of Commerce announced that the next NTIA Multistakeholder meeting will be July 25 in Washington, D.C. The final list of outstanding issues for stakeholders is here . Meeting information: Meeting 16 -- July 25, 2013, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET (Location: American Institute of Architects, ...
CFP self regulation panel -- At this year's Computers' Freedom, and Privacy conference, Pam Dixon will be on a panel discussing the NAI self-regulation and comparing the now NAI to the NAI of 2007, when WPF published a strong report discussing the profound issues with the NAI at that time.
Do Not Track History -- In the fall of 2007, WPF executive director Pam Dixon convened a meeting of civil liberty, consumer, and privacy groups to discuss and develop an idea she had of "Do Not Track." This became the Do Not Track proposal, which has now morphed into something quite different.
Medical ID Theft -- Pam Dixon was a guest on Gerri Willis' show (Fox Business News) today to discuss medical ID theft and what consumers can do to protect themselves from it.
ID Ecosystem -- WPF Senior Projects Manager Marianne Fitzpatrick will be participating at the ID Ecosystem's Plenary meeting this week. Of top concern at the plenary will be a new ID theft use case that requires substantive discussion regarding privacy checks and balances.
India's national biometric ID card -- In the May/June, 2013 issue of Foreign Policy Magazine, Pam Dixon writes about the privacy issues related to India's national biometric ID card. In the piece, Mission Creep, Dixon discusses how government-issued biometric ID cards that serve as national ID cards and as the basis for employment and financial transactions create profound civil liberties and privacy challenges that are neither easily or well-constrained by government policy.
Commercial drone privacy -- In comments filed with the FAA, the World Privacy Forum urged the agency to establish a robust privacy committee to focus on drone privacy and to clarify the applicability of the Privacy Act of 1974 to UAS test site operators. WPF also requested the FAA conduct mandatory Privacy Impact Assessments and provide a FIPS-compliant privacy notice. "We have offered our comments to the FAA with the acknowledgement that everyone has much to learn in the area of commercial drone privacy. Our suggestions to the FAA seek to increase general knowledge about drones and their effect on privacy," said Pam Dixon.
WPF on privacy and consumer trust -- Pam Dixon is speaking on a panel on privacy and trust at Marketing Science Institute in Boston. The panel, led by John Deighton of the Harvard Business School, includes experts from EPIC, the DAA, and CBS.
Visiting Scholar: Privacy in a Modern Era -- Pam Dixon is a visiting scholar at Portland's PNCA. She is scheduled to speak with students in a round of interdisciplinary classes, and she will also be giving a public keynote at 7 pm in Swigert Commons. Her public lecture is on Modern Privacy.
Senior ID Theft and privacy -- Pam Dixon speaks to Los Angeles County social workers and financial abuse support teams today to share WPF's wealth of information about medical identity theft and how this crime impacts seniors. WISE and Healthy Aging is hosting this important meeting.
Privacy in India and Developing Economies -- World Privacy Forum Executive Director Pam Dixon will present WPF's research and India privacy videos at the FTC - IAPP Global Privacy Conference workshop Wednesday, March 7. The session, Global Perspectives on Consumer Privacy, is the first session of its kind at IAPP or the FTC focused on privacy in developing economies. WPF has researched privacy extensively in India, and has documented a number of key privacy issues in a video series. So far, 5 videos in the series have been released. All of the videos were shot on location in India and feature Pam Dixon, with videographer Blake Hamilton. These videos offer a rare and early glimpse into privacy interactions and issues in India. WPF will be releasing one more video on biometric ID cards in India.
ID Ecosystem -- WPF is participating in the ID Ecosystem meetings as a consumer privacy representative. Senior Projects Manager Marianne Fitzpatrick is taking the lead on this project, and is working on general privacy and financial privacy areas. The next meeting of the ID Ecosystem is Tuesday March 5. The ID Ecosystem meetings are open to the public. The meetings are important, as this process will set the stage regarding how online identities are managed.
