The FCBA Privacy and Data Security Committee and the American Bar Association’s Forum on Communications Law will hold the 15th Annual Privacy & Data Security Symposium CLE on Monday, October 26 from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. This program will be held virtually via the Zoom platform.
Many stewards of the Internet’s most popular websites, online services, and platforms have historically funded their products and services by harnessing the value of consumer data, with varying degrees of transparency about what data they collect, how they use it, and what third parties do with it. Consumers, public interest groups, some tech companies, regulators, and governments across the world have increasingly criticized this state of affairs – and called for reform.
This event will present an in-depth discussion of key trends in these reform efforts, including the growing role of consumer data rights, increasing platform regulation, and ongoing debates over the efficacy of enforcement efforts.
If you are an ABA Forum on Communications Law member or have any issues with registration, please contact Elizabeth Hagerty at elizabeth@fcba.org.
Sponsorship of the event is available for $1000 and include one complimentary registration to the symposium. If you wish to sponsor, you must download the registration form. Sponsors are not able to register online.
AGENDA
1:00 – 1:05 p.m. Opening Remarks and Introduction
1:05 –1:35 p.m. Keynote Address and a Conversation with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks
1:35- 1:40 p.m. Break
1:40 – 2:40 p.m. Session I: Consumer Data Rights
During the twenty-teens, numerous jurisdictions expanded the obligations faced by companies that collect personal information, particularly in their duty to provide consumers, or data subjects, greater control. Our first panel will critically evaluate the rise and future of legally actionable data subject rights, looking to issues such as: Have new laws given consumers effective and meaningful choices with respect to personal information – or have they just created notice fatigue? What has the effect been on competition? Will the next wave of privacy reform continue to place such a heavy focus on data subject rights? How do property-rights or fiduciary-based proposals, such as New York Shield, fit in? How can organizations cope as rights-related obligations proliferate in different jurisdictions?
Moderator:
Adrienne Fowler, Partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP
Speakers:
Travis Hall, Telecommunications Policy Analyst, National Telecommunications Information Administration
Greg Anderson, Chief Privacy Officer, Scripps
Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, Deputy Director, Privacy Initiatives, BBB National Programs
Svetlana Gans, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association
2:40 – 2:50 p.m. Break
2:50 –3:50 p.m. Session II: Platform Regulation
The executive branch, lawmakers, and regulators have recently placed a renewed focus on the responsibility that platform providers have for both their own privacy practices and also for the activities of their users. In late 2019, the Federal Trade Commission conducted a workshop to explore whether an update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule was needed in light of the increased use of IoT, social media, ed tech, and general audience platforms hosting third-party directed content. This summer the Trump Administration issued a pair of executive orders concerning the popular TikTok app, citing national security concerns and the massive amounts of user data collected by the Chinese-owned app. Meanwhile, an amended version of the Earn It bill is moving through the Senate which, if enacted, would empower states to prosecute platforms and authorize private lawsuits against platforms who fail to comply with state requirements, which could weaken the ability of platforms to provide users with privacy-protecting end-to-end encryption. Panel II will discuss and debate the current and future states of platform providers’ evolving responsibilities and risks.
Moderator:
Melissa Kern, Member, Frost Brown Todd LLC
Speakers:
Jamie Susskind, Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Consumer Technology Association
David Greene, Civil Liberties Director/Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Amelia Vance, Director of Youth & Education Privacy and Senior Counsel, Future of Privacy Forum
Lee Tien, Senior Staff Attorney and the Adams Chair for Internet Rights, Electronic Frontier Foundation
3:50- 3:55 p.m. Break
3:55 – 4:55 p.m. Session III: Enforcement
Though the Federal Trade Commission remains the leading federal enforcer against companies and online platforms for privacy and data security failures, questions remain over whether it is effective or whether a new data privacy and security agency is needed. The roles of state and private enforcement also are the subject of ongoing debate. Questions also linger over the role of other federal agencies, especially with respect to cybersecurity. This panel will explore these items while building on the prior two by focusing on consumer control and platforms in particular.
Moderator:
John Heitmann, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren
Speakers:
Alicia Puente Cackley, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Michelle Richardson, Director, Privacy and Data Project, Center for Democracy and Technology
Andrew Smith, Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
Yael Weinman, Associate General Counsel for Privacy, Verizon
4:55 – 5:00 p.m. Closing Remarks