Privacy Group: Obama Needs Another C-Title
The Future of Privacy Forum on Tuesday recommended that President-elect Barack Obama appoint a chief privacy officer to promote fair information practices in the public and private sector and ensure that interactive tools used by government are transparent to citizens. Obama has already expressed interest in naming a chief technology officer within the White House. The recently launched group, which is backed by AT&T, also called for a standard definition of "personal information" and said the FTC should be given more technology and research resources as well as enhanced criminal law enforcement support.
The recommendations follow a December letter to Obama by 30 privacy, consumer and civil liberties groups that stressed the importance of protecting privacy in his administration. Obama has stated support for strengthening of privacy protection by harnessing the power of technology to hold government and businesses accountable for violations of personal privacy. The coalition said in the letter that there "is a clear need to address the spiraling problems of identity theft, security breaches, and the commercialization of personal information."
"We are in an era where the personal use of data brings opportunities for advancements that can improve millions of lives, but the misuse of data can also negatively impact millions of citizens," FPF co-chair Christopher Wolf said in a release. "Traditionally, government privacy protections were intended to limit the collection of data by government about its citizens. In today's web 2.0 environment, citizens expect to interact electronically by exchanging information with government leaders and agencies," added co-chair Jules Polonetsky. "Charting the appropriate user controls around this data is critical."
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