How Julie Brill Is Cultivating a Defense of the US Privacy Framework

Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill has been busy cultivating a defense of the US privacy framework while also planting seeds for lasting and meaningful interoperability with Europe. She was part of a must-see panel discussion with the European Commission’s Paul Nemitz. At times friendly and collegial while at others serious and contentious, the debate delved into the tricky fate of the Safe Harbor agreement, European concerns since the Snowden disclosures in 2013 and the role the FTC plays enforcing that agreement.

Ultimately, Commissioner Brill is optimistic about resolving tensions with Europe. “Part of my optimism goes back to the common privacy principles that we share and the efforts underway on both sides of the Atlantic to examine whether our different privacy frameworks are sufficiently able to protect consumers in an era of big data and the Internet of Things.” For her, it’s not about whether the US or the EU system is the “winning” system; it’s about whether both sides of the Atlantic will be able to develop an interoperable framework to keep a lucrative data-driven economy going. And one that consumers will trust.