My name is Leonardo Cervera.  I organised the first data privacy day in the United States while working as a visiting scholar at Duke University thanks to a generous grant from my employer, the European Commission. Thanks for visiting this blog.

Since the inaugural celebration (January 2008), many have joined the activities of Data Privacy Day. I suggest that you check out all the possibilities of Data Privacy Day 2010. If there is nothing that suits you or nothing really close to your place, you can become the organiser and do your own thing for data privacy day: a short presentation to your colleagues about the importance of data privacy or a brief talk at the school of your kids.

The website of 2010 is full of materials and good ideas, so you just grab one and participate!

Leonardo Cervera - January 2010

Web page of Privacy Day 2009

Five states (North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Massachusset and California) have already declared 28 January 2009 Data Privacy Day, and House Resolution 31 is pending to proclaim national Data Privacy Day!

Spread the word and encourage data privacy events! It is very easy: you may organise a brown bag lunch to raise awareness or or you can download educational materials and give a talk to teenagers of a nearby school. 

Congratulations to the public and private organisations that have already associated themselves to Data Privacy Day 2009:

Intel, International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, the Information Technology Association of America, the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University, the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions, the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, the European Commission, the Duke Center for European Studies, Center for Democracy and Technology, Quintiles, The Privacy Place at N.C. State, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DC Strategies, the Carolina Privacy Officials Network, Microsoft, Oracle, European Privacy Officers’ Forum, Capital One, Dalhousie University, Santa Clara Law School, TRUSTe, CIPL, Nymity, CAPAPA, Hunton & Williams, AT&T and Dialogue on Diversity.

Further to the publication of the report of the Data Privacy Day 2008 (where we had reproduced an article of the Sun Telegraph -Sidney, Nebraska- on 29 January 2008, reporting on the activities of local privacy experts, Dawn Nelson), today the Sun Telegraph has published an article on the report . 

Thank you very much to the Sun Telegraph and Dawn Nelson for their interest and contribution.  

It is a real pleasure for me to upload the report “Data Privacy Day in North America, reflections on the inaugural celebration”.

Download the report in high quality (42 MB)

Download the report in web quality (3,5 MB)

Please feel free to download, link and further disseminate this report.

A limited number of printed copies are being distributed at the moment among participants and contributors. If you would like to get a printed copy, please email me.

Thank you once again to all public and private organisations that have made this inaugural celebration possible and all the best for Data Privacy Day 2009!

Leonardo Cervera Navas

 

Teenagers do need education on the privacy risks they face when they go online.

I am personally convinced that one day (not so far away) all schools in Europe and in the US will have tailor-made educational programs to address this issue (as well as other related issues such as cyber-bullying and net-etiquete). 

In the meantime, the pioneer presentation prepared by Intel for the inaugural Data Privacy Day in North America (I would like to express my gratitude to Jolynn Dellinger and David Hoffman) is a great resource to educate teenagers, and this is something we can all use every day of the year (not only on Data Privacy Day). 

Therefore, may I encourage all privacy experts and teachers to have a look at these materials and use them freely at schools as well as at home with their own teenagers.

The powerpoint presentation is accompanied by a comprehensive script in word format and even by a document with additional sources and resources. 

EU Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini 

Source: Audiovisual Service of the European Commission 

Mr. Frattini’s message read by Francesca Bignami at the beginning of the Duke Conference

• Today, on 28 January 2008, Europe is celebrating Data Protection Day.
• As Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, I welcome today’s important event in North Carolina.
• The proclamation of a “Data Privacy Day” in North Carolina is a significant symbol on the broad universal consensus on the need for privacy protection, for everyone.
• I would like to thank the organizers of this important conference today at Duke University: this offers an excellent occasion to show and understand how necessary privacy protection is in a democratic society.
• We all know that the free flow of information is a necessity in our societies in a globalised economy. Equally, police and judicial authorities need to exchange personal information to ensure the security of people throughout the world.
• But: the protection of personal data is a necessary condition for this free flow of information across the globe.
• That is why we need to work effectively with our international partners, in particular the United States of America and its people.
• We have so much to share together! In November 2006 an informal High Level Contact Group was set up among US and EU on the occasion of a ministerial meeting in Washington/DC. This Group is discussing information sharing and protection of personal data for law enforcement purposes, with a view to find commonalities as part of a wider reflection on how best to prevent and fight terrorism and serious trans-national crime.
• This is just an example of the way we can join efforts and improve our mutual understanding. Let us work together to kick-start more awareness and provide information for citizens on their privacy rights. Let us work together to guarantee high levels of protection for personal data on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Dear friends of data privacy in the United States, Canada and the rest of the world,

The inaugural Data Privacy Day in North America has gone very well. Much better than I had ever expected.

Thanks to our supporters and sponsors and thanks in particular to Duke University and the International Association of Privacy Professionals, we have achieved our main goal: that North America and the European Union celebrated Data Privacy Day together.

I heard many people saying that the international conference at Duke University was deeply satisfying. May I add that some of the exchange of views between US and EU experts, anticipating perhaps a new era of transalantic understanding on data protection issues, were trully remarkable. You can see the webcast of the conference at the Duke Law School website.

But the activities of the Data Privacy Day went beyond Duke’s walls. Members of the IAPP gave data privacy day presentations in the following states: New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Ohio, Seattle, Miami, Virginia and Indiana.

In the state of North Carolina, further to the proclamation by Governor Easley , the director of the NC Deparment of Public Instruction sent an email to NC superintendents encouraging all middle and high schools to participate in the day activities.

During the next two weeks I will continue posting information on the feeback that we are getting from friends all over the United States and Canada, information that we will reflect in a final and official report.

On behalf of all the public and private organisations having sponsored this initiative, I would like to express our gratitude to all persons and institutions that have participated in this inaugural Data Privacy Day in North America.

Yours sincerely,

Leonardo Cervera Navas

EU Fellow at Duke University

PogoWasRight.org was the first to talk about Data Privacy Day some days ago and has just posted a reminder with information about other blogs and websites talking about this awareness rising campaign.

Surfarama considers this a cool idea and refers to the materials made available by Google, including the youtube Google privacy channel.

 GiCi on the contrary says that he is a bit perplex about the Google celebration of Data Privacy Day.

In the blog of Realtime Commuity IT Compliance we can read some good ideas for Data Privacy Day at the workplace (besides those proposed by the IAPP):

1) Show a recent theaher movie that addresses the privacy issue (e.g. “The Net”, “Swordfish”) and launch a debate around it.

2) Make a podcast on data privacy issues available for colleagues. Some of Rebecca’s can be found here.

3) Organize a contest or privacy quizzes with colleagues.

4) Distribute some privacy related articles.

All in all, be creative that day, that is the excellent recommendation of Rebecca Herold for Data Privacy Day.

 

Google is one of the sponsors of Data Privacy Day. 

Google’s privacy officers, Jane Horvath and Peter Fleischer, and Schuman Ghosemajumder, Business Product Manager for Trust and Safety  have published a post in the Official Google Blog informing of Google’s activities on Data Privacy Day.

They have also encouraged everybody to invest some minutes on January 28 to to educate others or to learn something new about data protection.  

Jane Horvath will be speaking at the Duke Conference on Data Privacy Day.