FTC Releases Agenda for PrivacyCon 2021

The Federal Trade Commission has released the final agenda for its sixth annual PrivacyCon event, which will be held online on July 27, and will include a focus on the privacy and security risks associated with algorithms, online advertising, and the Internet of Things.

PrivacyCon 2021 will highlight exciting new research and build on discussions in the United States and around the globe on trends related to consumer privacy and data security. Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Chief Technologist Erie Meyer will give opening remarks followed by six panels focused on algorithms, privacy considerations and understanding, advertising technology, the Internet of Things, privacy issues related to children and teens, and privacy and the pandemic. The event will also feature a presentation on the Algorithmic Bias Playbook by Ziad Obermeyer, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Berkeley School of Public Health.

The full agenda and links to the research that will be presented at PrivacyCon 2021 are available on the event page. PrivacyCon will take place online from 9 a.m. ET  to 5 p.m. ET. A link to view PrivacyCon 2021 will be posted on the event page the morning of the event. Registration is not required.

AGENDA

Introduction

Jamie Hine, Senior Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Welcome to PrivacyCon

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

Opening Remarks

Erie Meyer, Chief Technologist, Federal Trade Commission

Panel 1: Algorithms

• Basileal Imana, University of Southern California, Auditing for Discrimination in Algorithms Delivering Job Ads
• Hongyan Chang, National University of Singapore, On the Privacy Risks of Algorithm Fairness
• Martin Strobel, National University of Singapore, On the Privacy Risks of Model Explanations

Moderator:  Devin Willis, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Algorithms Presentation

• Ziad Obermeyer, University of California at Berkeley, Algorithmic Bias Playbook Presentation

Moderator:  Lerone Banks, Technologist, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Panel 2: Privacy – Considerations and Understanding

• Nico Ebert, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Bolder is Better:  Raising User Awareness Through Salient and Concise Privacy Notices
• Siddhant Arora, Carnegie Mellon University, Finding a Choice in a Haystack:  Automatic Extraction of Opt-Out Statements from Privacy Policy Text
• Cameron Kormylo, Virginia Tech, Reconsidering Privacy Choices:  The Impact of Defaults, Reversibility, and Repetition
• Peter Mayer, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Now I’m a bit angry – Individuals’ Awareness, Perception, and Responses to Data Breaches that Affected Them

Moderator:  Danielle Estrada, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Panel 3: AdTech

• Imane Fouad, Inria (France), Missed by Filter Lists:  Detecting Unknown Third-Party Trackers with Invisible Pixels
• Janus Varmarken, University of California Irvine, The TV is Smart and Full of Trackers: Measuring Smart TV Advertising and Tracking
• Miranda Wei, University of Washington, What Twitter Knows:  Characterizing Ad Targeting Practices, User Perceptions, and Ad Explanations Through Users’ Own Twitter Data

Moderator:  Miles Plant, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Panel 4: IoT

• Anupam Das, North Carolina State University, Hey Alexa, is this Skill Safe:  Taking a Closer Look at the Alexa Skill Ecosystem
• Jeffrey Young, Clemson University, Measuring the Policy Compliance of Voice Assistant Applications
• Pardis Emami-Naeni, University of Washington, Which Privacy and Security Attributes Most Impact Consumers’ Risk Perception and Willingness to Purchase IoT Devices?
• Genevieve Liberte, Florida International University, Real-time Analysis of Privacy (un)Aware IoT Applications

Moderator:  Linda Holleran Kopp, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Panel 5: Privacy – Children and Teens

• Mohammad Mannan, Concordia University (Canada), Betrayed by the Guardian - Security and Privacy Risks of Parental Control Solutions and Parental Controls:  Safer Internet Solutions or New Pitfalls?
• Cameryn Gonnella, BBB National Programs, Risky Business - The Current State of Teen Privacy in the Android App Marketplace

Moderator:  Manmeet Dhindsa, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection

Panel 6: Privacy and the Pandemic

• Marzieh Bitaab, Arizona State University, Scam Pandemic:  How Attackers Exploit Public Fear through Phishing
• Christine Geeng, University of Washington, Social Media COVID-19 Misinformation Interventions Viewed Positively, But Have Limited Impact

Moderator:  Christina Yeung, Technologist, Federal Trade Commission, Office of Technology Research and Investigation

Closing Remarks

Lerone Banks, Technologist, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Privacy & Identity Protection