By Brian Huseman, Senior Policy CounselNext week kicks off a series of events in honor of Data Privacy Day, an international celebration taking place on January 28 each year to honor worldwide commitment to data privacy and security. Intel is a proud founding sponsor of Data Privacy Day, and we are participating in a variety of internal and external activities in honor of the event. Data Privacy Day 2012 comes at a particularly critical time given the tremendous amount of attention being paid to privacy policy worldwide. The U.S. Administration and the Federal Trade Commission soon will be releasing final reports outlining their views about a privacy regulatory framework and the European Commission is in the midst of a comprehensive revision of their data protection framework. This year’s Data Privacy Day provides the perfect opportunity to discuss these developments at events in Washington, DC and Brussels.
- For instance, our Director of Security Policy and Global Privacy Officer David Hoffman is speaking at an event in Washington, DC sponsored by the National Cybersecurity Alliance on the intersection between privacy and security (taking place at 9:00 am on Thursday, January 26 at the George Washington University Law School, see http://dpd12.eventbrite.com/ for registration).
- Also on that day, The Future of Privacy Forum and Intel are hosting an event for thought leaders to discuss the leading privacy issues.
- In Brussels, Intel is sponsoring the 5th Annual Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference. At this conference on Thursday, January 26, Intel’s Christoph Luykx will be moderating a panel with Rosa Barcelo from the European Commission on how technology companies can maintain and increase trust in technology and Intel is supporting the multidisciplinary privacy research award.
And we’re celebrating Data Privacy Day not just through external events. We’re also using the occasion to educate our employees and others about the importance of data protection.
- We’re recognizing our internal “privacy champions” within Intel who have made extraordinary efforts to ensure a high level of privacy within the company.
- We’re promoting Intel’s privacy accountability processes throughout the company through statements by Intel senior executives and internal communications.
- We’re making data privacy educational materials available to teachers through Intel Engage, a network of 15,000 teachers.
- We’re also making privacy training materials available to Intel employees who volunteer in local schools through the Intel Involved volunteer program.
For a collection of other events happening around the world for Data Privacy Day, check out the National Cybersecurity Alliance’s Data Privacy Day website. At Intel, we take seriously our commitment to privacy and security, and we would love to hear your thoughts about privacy and its role in innovation. Please comment and let us know.