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The Privacy Playbook: A Practical Guide for Businesses Slides Are Now Available For Download!

For presentations from the webinars, please see below.

Series Summary: New technologies and social media channels have changed the ways that businesses collect, use, store, and share information about consumers and employees. The distinction between what has traditionally been deemed "personally identifiable information" and so-called "non-personally identifiable information" is eroding. Relationship marketing puts privacy at the core of advertising strategies, resulting in expanded self-regulatory efforts, but "Do Not Track" and other privacy bills threaten, and the Administration now may support privacy legislation. Data security breaches continue with ever more sophisticated attacks. HR departments face a daunting array of rules that affect data collection and management. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement actions and class action lawsuits based on companies' allegedly unfair and deceptive privacy practices are increasing. As companies expand their operations, outsource activities involving data processing to other jurisdictions, or move operations to the cloud, the issues become more complex.

Webinar 1 – Thursday, May 19, 2011

11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST

Topic: Implications of Recent Developments for Privacy Legislation and Enforcement

Title: The Privacy Legal Landscape

Speakers: Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall

Brief Summary: The U.S. privacy landscape continues to rapidly evolve, influenced by global privacy laws, rapidly changing technology, and increased concerns among the public and public interest groups. This session will provide an overview of relevant privacy laws, developments in the United States, and compliance issues posed by global operations. We will also discuss the impact on businesses of recently issued privacy reports from the FTC and Department of Commerce and the ongoing review of children's privacy requirements, as well as pending and potential privacy legislation. Do you understand how new legislation could affect your business?

Webinar 2 – June 2, 2011

11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
Topic: The Intersection of Advertising and Privacy
Title: Building Privacy Into Advertising and Marketing
Speakers: Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall

Brief Summary: Online advertising and social media are effective tools for building relationships with consumers and understanding their preferences, but the collection, use, and sharing of data- both personally identifiable information and information that has to date been considered anonymous- has privacy implications. At the same time, the notion of a "right to be forgotten" is gaining credence in the EU, yet truly erasing digital information and managing legal obligations is a challenge. This session will explore the media-specific privacy laws through which companies interact with and collect information from individuals, with a focus on online behavioral advertising/ interest-based advertising, user-generated content, social media, and online promotions.

Webinar 3 – June 16, 2011

11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
Topic: HR Privacy
Title: Privacy Considerations in the Employment Context
Speakers: Sheila Millar, Tracy Marshall, Mary Pivec

Brief Summary: What information does your company collect from current and prospective employees, and how is that information being used, shared, stored, and secured? Does your company have policies in place to govern employees' use of professional and social networking sites, online forums, blogs, and the like? Do you operate globally? Are you outsourcing HR data or operating in the cloud? Are you monitoring employees to confirm compliance with your policies? Do you understand obligations related to checking credit of current and prospective employees? Do you understand the relationship between FCRA obligations and EEOC considerations? Is your data security program for HR data up to snuff? These are just some of the questions relevant to HR privacy. Among the topics that will be covered are surveillance and monitoring of email and phone calls, transborder data flows, recordkeeping, background and credit checks, and the new E-Verify Self-Check program. This session will explore how to effectively manage HR data amidst the many privacy and data security challenges

Webinar 4 – June 30, 2011

11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
Topic: Data Security and Data Breaches
Title: Best Practices for Protecting Data and Managing Data Breaches Speakers: Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall

Brief Summary: Do you know where and how the data you collect is being used, stored, and secured, and who has access to it? What about what your contractors are doing?Most states have data breach notification laws, but there is no federal law with preemptive effect, which makes compliance a challenge. A Massachusetts law requires companies that store or maintain personal information about residents to implement a comprehensive written information security program, and the FTC's Red Flags Rule requires that "financial institutions" and "creditors" with "covered accounts" have written identity theft prevention programs in place. A data breach incident can cause both monetary and reputational damage, and legal complications can come from breach notifications and failures to notify. This session will explore how to effectively manage data breaches and considerations in advancing data security.

Webinar 5 – July 14, 2011

11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
Topic: Litigation Risks and Compliance Strategies
Title: Practical Tips for Avoiding Privacy Enforcement and Lawsuits
Speakers: Sheila Millar, Tracy Marshall, Douglas Behr

Brief Summary: Privacy related litigation, both in court and before administrative agencies, is on the rise. The FTC has taken actions against companies for unfair and deceptive privacy practices, and some companies' practices have subjected them to class action lawsuits. Breaches of privacy promises, failures to maintain security, and use of new technologies not spelled out in privacy policies have all been the topic of litigation. We will survey recent cases and provide best practices for the collection, use, storage, and sharing of information from or about individuals.

Webinar 6 – July 28, 2011

11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
Topic: Privacy and Technology: Smart Grid, RFID, Location-Based Services and Other Challenges
Title: Towards Privacy By Design: Smart Grid and Other Technologies
Speakers: Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall

Brief Summary: The use of Smart Grid technology offers several benefits, such as monitoring electricity usage and promoting energy conservation, but the technology also raises potential concerns about the types of information that would be collected and how it would be used and shared among utilities, appliance producers and service providers. Similarly, RFID offers important benefits in supply chain management and consumer convenience, while an explosion of geolocation-based services and offerings also pose new privacy concerns. This session will explore the privacy and security issues surrounding implementation of some important new technologies, such as Smart Grid and RFID, and discuss how to incorporate "privacy by design."