Friday, November 20, 2009

Significant Contribution of Carnegie Mellon Privacy Research Cited in Congressional Hearing

U.S. Capital Building

I want to credit the work dozens of dedicated faculty and students working on consumers' data privacy at Carnegie Mellon University, located in the heart of my district, have done. [Carnegie Mellon University], the data privacy lab and CyLab have all greatly contributed to the academic literature, commercial consciousness, public awareness, and my understanding of this issue. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)

Significant Contribution of Carnegie Mellon Privacy Research Cited in Congressional Hearing

The work of Carnegie Mellon CyLab faculty and students was cited today in remarks by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA.) during hearings on Exploring the Offline and Online Collection and Use of Consumer Information held by the Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Doyle also quoted CyLab researcher Alessandro Acquisti directly.

Here is a transcript of Rep. Doyle's remarks (thanks to CUPS' Aleecia McDonald).

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today. Trading and selling of personal information began as long ago as 1899. Two brothers created the retail credit company to track the credit worthiness of Atlanta grocery and retail customers. Some people know that company now as Equifax. Since then, the cost of storing and manipulating information has fallen sharply, and now organizations capture increasing amounts of data about individuals' behavior. Consumers hunger for personalization, product services, websites that cater to them. That causes them to reveal information about themselves. Ordering off a catalog reveals other information. Using a credit card yields more. And thinking you have to send in that warrantee card can reveal almost your entire life to other parties.
But that information probably delivers better products, more targeted services, and a more enjoyable Internet experience. As Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon writes, 'Is there a combination of economic incentives and technological solutions to privacy issues that is acceptable for the individual and beneficial to society?' In other words is there a sweet spot that satisfies the interests of all parties? And then, what are the rules of the road that we need to put in place to make sure consumers' privacy is protected and that commerce flourishes. That's what I hope to learn more about in today's hearing. I want to credit the work dozens of dedicated faculty and students working on consumers' data privacy at Carnegie Mellon University, located in the heart of my district, have done. [Carnegie Mellon University], the data privacy lab and CyLab have all greatly contributed to the academic literature, commercial consciousness, public awareness, and my understanding of this issue. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back."


Details and video of the hearing are available from the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcomittee Note: Video starts at 17:40 with audio starting at 18:26 -- nothing but a title screen before that. Representative Doyle begins speaking at 43:29.