FTC PrivacyCon 2022 topics include business surveillance, automated decision-making

The FTC’s seventh annual Privacy Conference is scheduled to be held on November 1, 2022. This isn’t the upcoming Bonnaroo festival, which won’t be headlined by Stevie Nicks, J. Cole, Herbie Hancock and Robert Plant. But then again, how much of the latest privacy and security-related trends and research can you learn from “Landslide”? Please follow the Business Blog for the latest updates on the November 1st virtual event agenda. Remember, we are only seven weeks away from the big day.

As part of PrivacyCon 2022, the FTC issued a call for speakers seeking relevant empirical research and argumentation, including rigorous economic analysis.Submission deadline is July 29, 2022. Please read the Call for Demos to learn more about the selection criteria and review process. The following are some topics of particular interest to the Federal Trade Commission:

• Algorithm bias and ensuring fairness in algorithm use;
• commercial surveillance, including workplace surveillance, advertising surveillance, and biometric surveillance;
• Potential new remedies and methods to improve privacy and security practices—for example, removing algorithms or other products developed using data illegally collected from consumers; and
• Privacy risks, harms and vulnerabilities of children and young people, particularly as a result of emerging technologies.

Hosted by FTC staff, PrivacyCon 2022 promises to bring together a panel of researchers, academics, industry representatives, consumer advocates and law enforcement officials to discuss the latest research. The event is open to the public and will be webcast via a link that will go live on the morning of November 1st.

On second thought, “Landslide Got Me Down” is a good description of the harm companies are doing to consumers through questionable privacy and data security practices. So maybe we’re underestimating Ms. Nix’s insights on the subject.