Jules Polonetsky (born August 18, 1965) [1] is an American lawyer and internet privacy expert from Brooklyn, New York, who is Chief Executive Officer of the Future of Privacy Forum. He is co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook on Consumer Privacy, with co-editors Omer Tene and Evan Selinger. [2]
Polonetsky graduated from Yeshiva University and New York University School of Law.[ citation needed ]
He began his career in 1989 as an associate for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and later was a district representative for United States Representative, Steve Solarz, from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1993, Polonetsky was a legislative aide to United States Representative, Charles Schumer. [3]
Polonetsky served in the New York State Assembly, from 1994 to 1997, representing southern Brooklyn. From 1998 to 2000, he served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. During this role, Polonetsky was responsible for ensuring that all consumer advertising and sales complied with City, State and Federal consumer protection laws. [3]
He was the Chief Privacy Officer, first for DoubleClick from 2000 to 2002, and then for AOL. During his time at DoubleClick, Polonetsky worked with clients to institute and supervise their privacy policies and ensure that they complied with data protection requirements of the company's world-wide subsidiaries. He also oversaw the company's government affairs activities and consumer-related advertising practices and was the company's spokesperson for comprehensive policy issues. [4]
From 2002 to 2006, Polonetsky was AOL’s Vice President of Integrity Assurance. He then was AOL's CPO from 2006 to 2008, where he was responsible for maintaining users trust in the company to handle their information. He also educated employees about the best advertising, content, and product development practices. During his time as CPO, Polonetsky also was the Senior Vice President of Consumer Advocacy.
He has been the Future of Privacy Forum's CEO since its founding in 2008. FPF is a nonprofit organization that serves as a catalyst for privacy leadership and scholarship, advancing principled data practices in support of emerging technologies. FPF's current projects focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning, connected cars, student privacy, health information, advertising tech, smart communities and data sharing for research. [5]
He is the co-founder of the Israel Policy Tech Institute (IPTI), which is a think-tank for tech policy leadership and scholarship that advances ethical practices in support of emerging technologies. [6]
Polonetsky led the development of the Student Privacy Pledge, endorsed by Barack Obama, and committed to by 350+ companies. The Student Privacy Pledge was introduced to safeguard student privacy regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal information. [7]
He has led numerous, multi-stakeholder efforts to develop codes of conduct and best practices, which include the Mobile Location Analytics Opt-Out technology and Privacy Best Practices for Consumer Genetic Testing Services. [8] [9]
From 2011 to 2012, Polonetsky was appointed to the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. [10]
He has been on the boards of multiple privacy and consumer protection organizations including International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Network Advertising Initiative. [3]
He has been on the Advisory Board of Trustees, now TrustArc, and is on the Advisory Board of OneTrust.
Polonetsky is a member of the George Washington University Law School Privacy and Security Advisory Council. [11]
He is a frequent speaker at privacy and technology events and has presented and testified before Congressional committees and the Federal Trade Commission. [3]
AOL is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is an independent nonprofit research center established in 1994 to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age. Based in Washington, D.C., their mission is to "secure the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people through advocacy, research, and litigation." EPIC believes that privacy is a fundamental right, the internet belongs to people who use it, and there's a responsible way to use technology.
Jonathan L. Zittrain is an American professor of Internet law and the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School. He is also a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and co-founder and director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Previously, Zittrain was Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute of the University of Oxford and visiting professor at the New York University School of Law and Stanford Law School. He is the author of The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It as well as co-editor of the books, Access Denied, Access Controlled, and Access Contested.
Gmail is the email service provided by Google. As of 2019, it had 1.5 billion active users worldwide, making it the largest email service in the world. It also provides a webmail interface, accessible through a web browser, and is also accessible through the official mobile application. Google also supports the use of third-party email clients via the POP and IMAP protocols.
Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a Washington, D.C.–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation that advocates for digital rights and freedom of expression. CDT seeks to promote legislation that enables individuals to use the internet for purposes of well-intent, while at the same time reducing its potential for harm. It advocates for transparency, accountability, and limiting the collection of personal information.
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP was an American law firm based in New York City, with offices also in Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization that oversees more than a dozen national industry self-regulation programs that provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services to companies, including outside and in-house counsel, consumers, and others in arenas such as privacy, advertising, data collection, child-directed marketing, and more. The Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR) is BBB National Programs' 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. CISR supports responsible business leaders in developing fair, future-proof best practices, and the education of the public on the conditions necessary for industry self-regulation.
Ray Everett, formerly known as Ray Everett-Church, is an American attorney, entrepreneur and author. He was dubbed "the dean of corporate Chief Privacy Officers" by Interactive Week Magazine, first creating that title and position in 1999 at Internet advertising company AllAdvantage. In 1997, he was profiled by The New York Times as an influential advocate of responsible online advertising. In 2013 and 2014 Business Insider designated him among the “Most Important LGBT People in Tech.”
Annie Antón is an academic and researcher in the fields of computer science, mathematical logic, and bioinformatics.
The Future of Privacy Forum is a Washington DC–based think tank and advocacy group focused on issues of data privacy. It is jointly supported by corporate sponsors and foundations.
The United States Commission's fair information practice principles (FIPPs) are guidelines that represent widely accepted concepts concerning fair information practice in an electronic marketplace.
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been involved in oversight of the behavioral targeting techniques used by online advertisers since the mid-1990s. These techniques, initially called "online profiling", are now referred to as "behavioral targeting"; they are used to target online behavioral advertising (OBA) to consumers based on preferences inferred from their online behavior. During the period from the mid-1990s to the present, the FTC held a series of workshops, published a number of reports, and gave numerous recommendations regarding both industry self-regulation and Federal regulation of OBA. In late 2010, the FTC proposed a legislative framework for U.S. consumer data privacy including a proposal for a "Do Not Track" mechanism. In 2011, a number of bills were introduced into the United States Congress that would regulate OBA.
Lori Fena is an American internet activist, entrepreneur, and author, best known as the former director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 1995 to 1998 and author of "The Hundredth Window". Fena is currently the co-founder and VP of Business Development for Personal Digital Spaces and Founder and executive director of the Sustainable Information Economy.
Web browsing history refers to the list of web pages a user has visited, as well as associated metadata such as page title and time of visit. It is usually stored locally by web browsers in order to provide the user with a history list to go back to previously visited pages. It can reflect the user's interests, needs, and browsing habits.
Michael Zimmer is a privacy and data ethics scholar. He currently is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Marquette University and Director of the Center for Data, Ethics, and Society. Previously, he was on the faculty at the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and director of the Center for Information Policy Research. Zimmer is on the advisory board of the Future of Privacy Forum, and was on the executive committee of the Association of Internet Researchers from 2009-2016. He was the Microsoft Resident Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School from 2007-2008.
The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is an American organization focused on advocacy and initiatives in support of copyright law. The CCI aims to educate the public about copyright law; coordinates with copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs) about issues related to online copyright infringement; assists with the design, implementation, review, and promotion of an online infringement notification and mitigation system ; collects and disseminates online infringement data; and promotes lawful means of obtaining copyrighted works. The organization was created as a partnership between industry associations, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, and five major American Internet service providers.
Chris Jay Hoofnagle is an American professor at the University of California, Berkeley who teaches information privacy law, computer crime law, regulation of online privacy, internet law, and seminars on new technology. Hoofnagle has contributed to the privacy literature by writing privacy law legal reviews and conducting research on the privacy preferences of Americans. Notably, his research demonstrates that most Americans prefer not to be targeted online for advertising and despite claims to the contrary, young people care about privacy and take actions to protect it. Hoofnagle has written scholarly articles regarding identity theft, consumer privacy, U.S. and European privacy laws, and privacy policy suggestions.
Henry Lin is a co-founder of NQ Mobile a mobile security service provider in China. He was the company's chairman, chief executive officer and chief architect, responsible for overall strategic leadership and product planning. According to a 2011 whitepaper on China's Mobile Security Market by Frost & Sullivan, he led NQ Mobile to a 62% market share in China. He resigned from the company in December 2014.
A data economy is a global digital ecosystem in which data is gathered, organized, and exchanged by a network of companies, individuals, and institutions to create economic value. The raw data is collected by a variety of factors, including search engines, social media websites, online vendors, brick and mortar vendors, payment gateways, software as a service (SaaS) purveyors, and an increasing number of firms deploying connected devices on the Internet of Things (IoT). Once collected, this data is typically passed on to individuals or firms, often for a fee. In the United States, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other agencies have developed early models to regulate the data economy.
Andrea M. Matwyshyn is an American law professor and engineering professor at The Pennsylvania State University. She is known as a scholar of technology policy, particularly as an expert at the intersection of law and computer security and for her work with government. She is credited with originating the legal and policy concept of the Internet of Bodies.