Organizer: David Choffnes (Northeastern University) Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 On October 9, 2024, David Choffnes (Northeastern University) organized a roundtable with leading researchers on commercial surveillance. The one-hour event started with brief introductions, followed by an engaging discussion about topics ranging from web tracking, algorithmic targeting, AI (particularly generative AI), fingerprinting, YouTube recommendations, custom/lookalike audiences, data brokers, and pricing. We also discussed harms for vulnerable populations such as children, teens, individuals experiencing life events …

Several proper data members presented the latest in ad filtering technologies and online privacy at this year's Ad-Filtering Dev Summit in Amsterdam (and remotely) from October 4-5, 2023. Graduate student Pouneh Bahrami (UC Davis) presented on the privacy implications of cross-domain script interactions. ProperData UC Irvine Alum Hieu Le (postdoc, University of Michigan-Ann Arbour) presented his current work on automatic filter list generation for Adblocking. Graduate student Abdul Haddi Amjad (Virginia Tech University, co-advised at …

Co-PI, Woodrow Hartzog, provided testimony on the future of AI legislation in front of the Senate Judiciary's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on September 12, 2023. In his testimony, Professor Hartzog discusses the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) and emphasizes the inadequacy of current industry-led policy approaches. While he acknowledges the importance of measures such as transparency, bias mitigation, and ethical principles, Professor Hartzog argues that these are insufficient "half-measures" that fail …

Comments provided to FTC on Trade Regulation Rules on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security ProperData members (BU, IMDEA, NU, Princeton, UCI, UC Davis, USC), along with collaborators across multiple institutions and several multi- and cross-disciplinary projects, including: the Center for Information Technology Policy (Princeton), Security and Privacy Lab (UW), and the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute (NU), provided comments regarding the prevalence of commercial surveillance and harmful data security practices to the FTC in November. The …

To help the general public understand online privacy issues, ProperData members have launched "Nothing to Hide? A Data Privacy Podcast". Our researchers disentangle the latest privacy research weekly to inform and empower the public to take steps to protect their online privacy. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or Google Podcasts. Additional information can be found on the NTH website: https://nothingtohide.online/

Beyond the FTC: The Future of Privacy Enforcement will bring together law and computer science scholars from across the country to identify and propose solutions to barriers that inhibit enforcement of privacy rights. The symposium is a collaboration between U of Iowa's Innovation, Business and Law Center and Harvard's Journal of Law and Technology. PIs Hartzog, Jordan, Choffnes, Markopoulou, and Shafiq will present a paper titled, “A Scientific Approach to Tech Accountability”. Additional information, speaker …

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) recently published a report on “Dark Commerical Patterns” in which multiple Frontier works were cited. We are happy to see the lasting impact that the dark patterns work lead by NEU graduate student Johanna Gunawan, with PIs David Choffnes (NEU) and Woodrow Hartzog (Boston), continues to make in the field. Gunawan’s papers “Towards an Understanding of Dark Pattern Privacy Harms” and “A Comparative Study of Dark Patterns …