Blog Posts Tagged with Tech

Flo Health pitched its Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker as a way for millions of women to “take full control of [their] health.” But according to the FTC, despite express privacy claims, the company took control of users’ sensitive fertility data and shared it with third parties – a broken promise that left consumers feeling “outraged,” “victimized,” and “violated.” Read on for details, including a notable feature in the proposed settlement.

It’s an annual celebration of the innovative, the audacious, and the avant garde. The Met Gala? Not quite. It’s the FTC’s sixth PrivacyCon, scheduled to convene virtually on July 27, 2021.

“Take out” takes on a whole new meaning when it involves your data. Consumers and industry members are giving more thought to the issue of data portability – the ability of consumers to move data (such as emails, contacts, calendars, financial information, health information, favorites, friends, or content posted on social media) from one service to another or to their own files. That’s the topic of a September 22, 2020, virtual event, Data To Go: An FTC Workshop on Data Portability.

PrivacyCon is going virtual this year. As the just-released agenda for the fifth annual Gathering of the Gurus demonstrates, you’ll want to mark July 21, 2020, on your calendar and watch the webcast for thought-provoking research into topics related to consumer privacy and data security.

Headlines tout rapid improvements in artificial intelligence technology. The use of AI technology – machines and algorithms – to make predictions, recommendations, or decisions has enormous potential to improve welfare and productivity. But it also presents risks, such as the potential for unfair or discriminatory outcomes or the perpetuation of existing socioeconomic disparities. Health AI offers a prime example of this tension.

Even as we all adjust to day-to-day changes, your work – and the work of the FTC – continues. If you’re a technologist or academic interested in presenting your latest research at the FTC’s PrivacyCon 2020, please let us know by April 10, 2020. Check out the Call for Presentations and respond by the deadline.

Have you had this experience? You hear about a remarkable innovation, but before you can finish the phrase “That’s amaz . . . .” you’ve already jumped ahead to the questions and concerns it raises. That’s how many people are responding to voice cloning – emerging technologies that let users make near-perfect reproductions of a person’s voice.

How would we describe PrivacyCon 2020? Is it Burning Man without the flames? The New Orleans Jazz Festival – minus the jazz and the festival? The best way to know what PrivacyCon is all about is to mark your calendar for July 21, 2020, and attend the FTC’s fifth annual gathering of leading privacy researchers. And check out our Call for Presentations to see if PrivacyCon would be a good forum for your recent research.

How do repair restrictions for tech devices, appliances, cars, etc., affect consumers and small businesses? What are the arguments for and against? And what’s the fix? Those are topics of Nixing the Fix: A Workshop on Repair Restrictions – and it’s set to start soon. At 12:30 ET today, you can watch the live webcast.