White House’s online ‘Bill of Rights’ reflects American Academy’s work on Internet security

Key recommendations in the fall 2011 issue of the Academy’s journal, Daedalus, “Protecting the Internet as a Public Commons,” are reflected in the White House’s newly released
“Privacy Bill of Rights,” for online consumers.

One of the Bill’s Fair Information Practice Principles (Respect for Contexts), draws on Helen Nissenbaum’s Daedalus essay – “A Contextual Approach to Privacy Online.” Nissenbaum, Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication and Professor of Computer Science at New York University, discussed her work at briefings organized by the Academy for executive branch officials and congressional staff in Washington, D.C., on November 2nd.

The briefings focused on topics including the evolution of the Internet and issues pertaining to trust, access, personal identity, and unruly behavior online. Other presenters were: David D. Clark, Senior Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and guest editor of the Daedalus volume; Vinton G. Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google; Deirdre K. Mulligan, Assistant Professor at the School of Information at University of California, Berkeley; and Fred B. Schneider, Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University. Each contributed as essay to “Protecting the Internet as a Public Commons.”

Senior administration officials participating in the Academy briefing at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy included representatives from the National Security Staff, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State. Some 70 legislative and non-governmental organization staff members attended a second session at the House of Representatives. The briefings were organized in coordination with Danny Weitzner, U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Internet Policy, and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA).

Copies of Daedalus are available from MIT Press.