Those in the habit of looking for privacy invasions can find them everywhere. This phenomenon is on display in the recent news coverage of Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., a case currently under review by the Supreme Court. The litigation challenges a Vermont law that would limit the dissemination and use of prescription drug data for the purposes of marketing to physicians by pharmaceutical companies. The prescription data at issue identify the prescribing physician and pharmacy, but provide only limited detail about the patients (for example, the patient�s age in years and gender). Nevertheless, privacy organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) have filed amici curiae briefs sounding distress alarms for patient privacy. A recent New York Times article describes the case as one that puts the privacy interests of “little people” against the formidable powers of “Big Data.” The fear is that, in the information age, data subjects could be re-identified using the vast amount of auxiliary information available about each of us in commercial databases and on the internet.
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Little Risk of Re-Identification through Health Data
Properly anonymized health data pose little risk of patient identification, state Jane Yakowitz and Daniel Barth-Jones in “The Illusory Privacy Problem in Sorrell v. IMS Health,” published today by the Technology Policy Institute. Moreover, if the Department of Health and Human Services were to abandon the distinction between personally identifiable and anonymized data (as the Federal Trade Commission has done in its recent report) “the result would be nothing short of disastrous for health care improvements and medical research,” according to the authors.
Improving ICANN’s Governance and Accountability: A Policy Proposal
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has control over extremely important aspects of the Internet. Yet, its non-profit corporation status, combined with the way that it is funded and governed, make accountability a serious problem. This paper draws on the accountability framework that has been developed by Mueller (2009) to evaluate the structure and governance of ICANN and then compares it to the structure and governance of a number of other organizations that perform a roughly comparable range of coordination and standard-setting functions, to explore what might be applicable to ICANN. Virtually all of these other organizations are governed by their direct users, thereby building accountability into their structures. We suggest that this would be a good model for ICANN as well.
ICANN Should Move Toward Greater Private Sector Accountability
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers should be more accountable to its private sector users, state Thomas Lenard and Lawrence White in �Improving ICANN’s Governance and Accountability: A Policy Proposal,� published in the latest issue of Information Economics and Policy. Instead of increased government involvement, as some have been advocating, Lenard and White recommend ICANN be governed by its direct users, the registries and registrars, as a way of improving accountability, a longstanding issue with ICANN.
Event – Spectrum Incentive Auctions: the Nuts, Bolts and Economics
The FCC and the Administration want to make 120 MHz of spectrum currently used for broadcast available for other, presumably higher-value, wireless uses. Policymakers are proposing using voluntary auctions to encourage broadcasters to sell their licenses, but questions remain on how these incentive auctions would work in practice. Discussion at “Spectrum Incentive Auctions: the Nuts, Bolts and Economics,” hosted by the Technology Policy Institute, will focus on the economics of auctions and how spectrum incentive auctions should be structured to provide the most efficient outcomes for stakeholders. Discussants will also answer questions submitted by attendees. Questions can be submitted anonymously on the TPI website.
Best Practices in Tax Administration: Comments to Senate Finance Committee
The issue of government-prepared tax returns was discussed during the April 12,…
Comments filed with the Senate Committee on Finance on “Best Practices in Tax Administration: A Look Across the Globe”
Attachments Comments filed with the Senate Committee on Finance on “Best Practices…
Tech Entrepreneur Peter Thiel to Speak at TPI Aspen Forum
Peter Thiel, technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, will join other notable keynote speakers at the Technology Policy Institute’s 2011 Aspen Forum, scheduled for August 21 – 23. Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and investor in such tech companies as Facebook, LinkedIn, and SpaceX, is expected to share his perspective on the current economy and the environment for innovation in the technology sector.
USF Reform Should Include Low-Income Subsides, Competitive Auctions
Transitioning the use of universal service funds to subsidize broadband creates a unique opportunity to reform the program. Reforms should include a focus on low-income subsides and competitive bidding in high-cost service areas, explain Scott Wallsten and Gregory Rosston in “The Path to Universal Broadband: Why We Should Grant Low-Income Subsides, and Use Auctions and Experiments to Determine the Specifics” recently published by The Economists’ Voice.
The Path to Universal Broadband: Why We Should Grant Low-Income Subsidies and Use Experiments and Auctions to Determine the Specifics
Gregory Rosston of Stanford University and Scott Wallsten of the Technology Policy Institute argue that the switch from voice to broadband services provides a rare opportunity to reform universal service programs. Rossten and Wallsten offer an alternative design to deliver services in an efficient and politically-palatable manner.