Microsoft's Brill: Global Engagement Needed Amid EU-US Data Privacy Framework Uncertainty
Amid European uncertainty about the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (see 2504230002), Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Julie Brill advised IAPP Global Policy Summit attendees to talk calmly with other countries about the state of U.S. privacy. On the same panel Thursday, Cisco CPO Harvey Jang said engagement with regulators and legislators is a must at the moment.
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Some have raised concerns about the DPF’s longevity after President Donald Trump fired Democratic members of the FTC and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (see 2503190046). For instance, Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems last month called the FTC firings the latest nail in the coffin for the framework (see 2503250056).
A former Democratic commissioner at the FTC, Brill said it’s “impactful when you show up elsewhere, outside the United States ... to talk to people about what's really happening … about privacy on the ground in the United States.” That includes “impacts of certain decisions that have been made, as well as going forward, the importance of maintaining … the Data Privacy Framework, and what our view of potential intent or lack of intent or lack of understanding was at the root of some of the decisions that have been made.”
“Showing up and talking in a responsible way” and being “one of the adults in the room who can really calmly walk through issues is going to be very important …in the next few months and years,” Brill said.
Jang said that right now, “engagement is more important than ever.” He said that “no matter what side of the spectrum you’re on or what outcome you want, we need to help our legislators and regulators understand the impact that their laws are creating, and hopefully they'll be more intentional and not accidentally cause [these] impacts.”
Consequences caused by the Trump administration's actions seemed to loom large at the IAPP session, with the IRS’ just-resigned chief privacy officer asking panelists to weigh in on the current U.S. government.
“So, I'm the chief privacy officer of the IRS until tomorrow,” Kathleen Walters opened her question to the panel. “For the reasons that were in the paper, I have chosen to resign.” Walters reportedly joined IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause in quitting the agency.
Walters said she's concerned that “most of our, a lot of our data, has been breached. We all know that probably everyone has had some of their data breached. And as the government does some things that are questionable and could create increased risks, I'm worried about … how do we in the future actually protect individuals when their information is already out there?”
Dierdre Mulligan, a University of California-Berkeley professor who was principal deputy U.S. chief technology officer in the Biden administration, responded that if she were to rewrite the Privacy Act of 1974, “there would be a lot more encryption” and “structural separation between those who hold data, those who want access, and those whose perhaps third key is necessary to unlock it and use it.”
She added, “The Privacy Act works really, really well -- in normal times.”