Mobile privacy — Mobile app privacy is the topic of the multistakeholder process to be undertaken this week under the direction of the US Department of Commerce. Over the weekend, a NYT article revealed that mobile carriers received more than 1.3 million requests by law enforcement for mobile data, including requests for text messages. This article is a focusing event. It is a reminder that in mobile privacy we need to put the consumer first, focus on what is important, and apply responsibility for privacy and transparency throughout the hierarchy of mobile players, from carriers to platforms to app stores to publishers to developers. It is unclear yet what segments of the hierarchy require what amounts of the burden, but what is clear is that carriers will certainly need to do a lot. It is also clear that the idea of just an icon on a screen to communicate the idea of mobile privacy to consumers is a band-aid approach at best when faced with the truth of where some of the real risks are for consumers.

HIE interactive map — WPF has posted a new interactive map of health information organizations and exchanges in California. This is a map-in-progress, and we will be adding data to the map in stages.

Mobile Apps — Pam Dixon will be speaking in the Privacy Summit Series in dialogue with the leading mobile app developers in Los Angeles and San Diego, both mobile app hotspots. The dialogues are part of a national series aimed at fostering a robust discussion between privacy experts and leading developers. The Los Angeles event is taking place June 5, the San Diego event is June 6.

FTC | Mobile privacy – Pam Dixon spoke at the FTC’s May 30 mobile disclosures workshop. The panel focused on exploring privacy in the mobile applications and mobile wireless space. Some of the privacy topics Dixon covered at the workshop included the role and use of unique identifiers in wireless technologies.

WPF filed comments with the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethics today urging the Commission to recognize the need for enhanced genetic privacy protections in a digital world. WPF noted that “The increasing identifiability of genetic data presents major privacy issues for research activities that must be acknowledged and addressed.” WPF suggested four key ways that Certificate of Confidentiality programs could be enhanced for privacy protection, and urged the Commission to speak out about the importance of protecting patient privacy in research activities involving genetic information. “The Commission should advocate providing patients with reasonable controls over research uses of their data as electronic records develop and spread throughout the health care system.” Public comments may be submitted to the Commission until May 25, 2012.