Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Big data and privacy working group releases Interim Progress Report, (Feb 5, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

Following the release of the big data and privacy working group’s May 2014 report, titled “Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values,” the White House today issued an Interim Progress Report, discussing improvements made on key recommendations and issues that need further attention.

The May 2014 report identified six policy recommendations deserving prompt action by the Obama Administration: (1) advance the consumer privacy bill of rights to provide clear, understandable, reasonable standards for consumers concerning how their personal information is used in the big data era; (2) pass national data breach legislation that sets forth a single national data breach standard; (3) extend privacy protections to non-U.S. persons; (4) ensure that data collected on students in school is used for only educational purposes; (5) expand technical expertise so that government agencies can identify practices and outcomes facilitated by big data analytics that have a discriminatory impact on protected classes; and (6) amend the electronic communications privacy act in order to ensure that the standard of protection for online, digital content is consistent with that afforded in the physical world.

According to the Interim Progress Report, the Administration is making significant progress on most of the 2014 report’s recommendations. The Department of Commerce solicited public comment on the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights in light of new technologies, and the Administration is planning on releasing draft legislation early this year. In January 2015, President Obama released revised national data breach legislation—the Personal Data Notification & Protection Act. Attorney General Eric Holder announced in June 2014, the U.S.-EU Data Protection and Privacy Agreement for law enforcement purposes, and the Office of Management and Budget is currently working with other departments and agencies to increase privacy protections for non-U.S. citizens. In January 2015, President Obama also announced the Student Digital Privacy Act, which is a national effort to ensure that K-12 student data is used for only educational purposes. Further, several other efforts have been taken to further the government’s understanding of big data and discrimination.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act amendments. Although the Interim Progress Report noted that efforts on Capitol Hill to amend the nearly 30-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act have seen little progress, a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators introduced legislation today to modernize the electronic privacy laws and bring protections against warrantless searches. The legislation, titled the “Electronic Communications Privacy Amendments Act of 2015,” was introduced in the Senate by Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and introduced in the House by Representatives Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.).

“The federal government is using an arcane 1986 law to conduct warrantless searches of the personal email accounts and other digital communication of the American people,” stated Rep. Yoder. “The last time Congress updated our email privacy laws, we were two years removed from the release of the first Macintosh computer. It’s time Congress modernized these outdated statutes to ensure that the rights protected by the Fourth Amendment extend to Americans’ email correspondence and digital storage.”

Do-not-track standard. The Interim Progress Report noted one other issue that needs further attention—a multi-stakeholder development of a Do Not Track standard that consumers can use, regardless of browser preference or operating system. Noting that there have been delays in moving this initiative forward, the report urges stakeholders to recommit to developing new voluntary tools, including Do Not Track, to safeguard consumers’ privacy.

“Big data will continue to contribute to and shape our society, and the Administration will continue working to ensure that government and civil society strive to harness the power of these technologies while protecting privacy and preventing harmful outcomes,” the report concluded.

News: ConsumerProtection Privacy