Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: FTC chief technologist considers U.S. privacy research agenda outlined in National Privacy Research Strategy, (Jul 20, 2016)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

The first ever U.S. "National Privacy Research Strategy" (NPRS), which was recently released by the White House, makes the case for why privacy research is important, according to a recent blog post by FTC Chief Technologist Lorrie Cranor.

The NPRS calls for funding for privacy research, coordination across government agencies, and mechanisms to facilitate the alignment of privacy research with real-world requirements. It also outlines the following seven national privacy research priorities and provides a set of research questions in support of each priority:

• Foster a multidisciplinary approach to privacy research and solutions.

• Understand and measure privacy desires and impacts.

• Develop system design methods that incorporate privacy desires, requirements, and controls.

• Increase transparency of data collection, sharing, use, and retention.

• Assure that information flows and use are consistent with privacy rules.

• Develop approaches for remediation and recovery.

• Reduce privacy risks of analytical algorithms.

According to Cranor, many of the research questions discussed in the NPRS are similar to questions the FTC has asked in considering privacy issues.

After noting that the FTC’s first PrivacyCon event showed privacy research on topics such as data security, online tracking, consumer perceptions of privacy, privacy disclosures, big data, and the economics of privacy, Cranor stated that the FTC is currently seeking research submissions for its second PrivacyCon event to be held January 12, 2017. She further stated that the FTC is particularly interested in research on qualifying consumers’ privacy and security interests, attack trends and responses, transparency and control, and tools.

News: Privacy FederalTradeCommissionNews