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The Federal Trade Commission has announced the final agenda for its upcoming workshop, “Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?” taking place at 9 a.m. on Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C.

“Big data” generally refers to advancing technologies that are dramatically expanding the commercial collection, analysis, use, and storage of data. The workshop will examine the use of big data and its impact on consumers, including low-income and underserved consumers. The day-long program will feature presentations and panel discussions with academic researchers, consumer groups, industry representatives and others with expertise on these issues and include remarks by FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioner Julie Brill.

The workshop will take place in the auditorium of the Constitution Center, located at 400 7th Street, SW, in Washington, D.C. Registration will open at 8 a.m.

The agenda and panelists are as follows:

9:00Opening Remarks
Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman, Federal Trade Commission
9:15Presentation: Framing the Conversation
Solon Barocas, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton University Center for Information Technology Policy
9:30Panel 1: Assessing the Current Environment
This panel will examine the current uses of big data in a variety of contexts and how these uses impact consumers.

Kristin Amerling, Chief Investigative Counsel and Director of Oversight, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
danah boyd, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research and Research Assistant Professor, New York University
Mallory Duncan, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Retail Federation
Gene Gsell, Senior Vice President, U.S. Retail & CPG, SAS
David Robinson, Principal, Robinson + Yu
Joseph Turow, Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
11:00Panel 2: What’s on the Horizon with Big Data?
This panel will explore potential uses of big data as well as the potential benefits and harms for particular populations of consumers.

Alessandro Acquisti, Associate Professor of Information Systems and Public Policy, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University and Co-director of the CMU Center for Behavioral Decision Research
Pamela Dixon, Founder and Executive Director, World Privacy Forum
Cynthia Dwork, Distinguished Scientist, Microsoft Research
Mark MacCarthy, Vice President for Public Policy, Software Information Industry Association
Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President and Chief Research & Policy Officer, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
1:20Remarks
Julie Brill, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
1:30Presentation: Digging into the Data
Latanya Sweeney, Chief Technologist, Federal Trade Commission
Jinyan Zang, Research Fellow in Technology and Data Governance, Federal Trade Commission
1:45Panel 3: Surveying the Legal Landscape
This panel will review antidiscrimination and consumer protection laws and discuss how they may apply to the use of big data, and whether there may be gaps in the law.

Leonard Chanin, Partner, Morrison Forrester
Carol Miaskoff, Assistant Legal Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Montserrat Miller, Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
C. Lee Peeler, President and CEO of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council and Executive Vice President, National Advertising Self-Regulation, Council of Better Business Bureau
Peter Swire, Professor of Law and Ethics, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology
3:15Panel 4: Considerations on the Path Forward
This panel will explore best practices for the use of big data to protect consumers.

Christopher Calabrese, Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union
Daniel Castro, Senior Analyst, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Jeanette Fitzgerald, General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer, Epsilon
Jeremy Gillula, Staff Technologist, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Michael Spadea, Director, Promontory Financial Group
Christopher Wolf, Senior Partner, Hogan Lovells; Founder and Chair, Future of Privacy Forum; Chair, National Civil Rights Committee, Anti-Defamation League
4:30Jessica Rich, Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jay Mayfield
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2181

STAFF CONTACTS:
Tiffany George
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3040

Katherine Armstrong
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3250