Department of Commerce Launches Collaborative Privacy Framework Effort

Innovative technologies such as the “internet of things” (IoT) and artificial intelligence enhance convenience, efficiency and economic growth. At the same time, these and other technologies increasingly require complex networking environments and use detailed data about individuals that can make protecting their privacy harder. To help meet this challenge, the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it has launched a collaborative project to develop a voluntary privacy framework to help organizations manage risk.  The envisioned privacy framework will provide an enterprise-level approach that helps organizations prioritize strategies for flexible and effective privacy protection solutions so that individuals can enjoy the benefits of innovative technologies with greater confidence and trust. Parallel with this effort, Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration is developing a domestic legal and policy approach for consumer privacy in coordination with the department’s International Trade Administration to ensure consistency with international policy objectives. To collect input from stakeholders, NIST will kick off the effort with a public workshop on Oct. 16, 2018, in Austin (TX)—in conjunction with the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Privacy. Security. Risk. 2018 conference.