DHS withdraws proposed rule that would have created mandatory biometrics collection for children

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has withdrawn a proposed rulemaking related to biometric collection, USCIS Docket No. USCIS-2019-0007. Last year, WPF urged DHS to withdraw this biometric rulemaking because the rulemaking lacked scientific facts and basis. WPF also found that the DHS biometric proposal avoided discussion of the new barriers it would have created

FTC agrees to make compliance report public in face recognition-related case; WPF comments had a positive impact

We are extremely pleased and heartened that after years of requesting that the FTC make compliance reports public, that the Commission has agreed to do so with the Everalbum settlement. WPF submitted comments regarding the Everalbum proposed settlement to the US Federal Trade Commission on February 23, 2021. Today, the FTC announced the final settlement and

WPF Statement to the Civil Society Consultation on Sustainable Health Security Preparedness and Response, C20, 2021

The World Privacy Forum participated in the C20 Civil Society Consultation on Sustainable Health Security Preparedness 20 April, 2021, part of the preparatory work for the G20 health-related declaration. (Rome Declaration.) In our attached statement to the C20 / G20, we outline three key requirements to allow safe and sustainable health data ecosystem knowledge utilization, including privacy and effective data governance, interoperability, and robust inclusion of LMICs and vulnerable or
marginalized populations in standards development.

Gender Matters in Identity Systems: How an ID4Africa Livecast Broke Important New Ground in Gender and Privacy 

Recently, ID4Africa held an extremely compelling and meticulously researched livecast on the issue of gender and identity systems, with good discussions that also touched on privacy in this context. The livecast boasted an excellent roster of experts, all of whom are active work in the field. Each presented well-substantiated, groundtruthed research and insight about the myriad ways that how identity systems mediate gender matter a great deal. The cumulative effect was eye-opening.