Beginning in January 2014, IQSS affiliate Latanya Sweeney will join the Federal Trade Commission as Chief Technologist. Sweeney, Professor of Government and Technology in Residence, is the director of the Data Privacy Lab at IQSS. Her work focuses on creating and using technology to assess and solve societal, political, and governance problems, and on teaching others how to do the same. Sweeney has also testified before Congress and the European Commission and participated in many federal regulatory and advisory committees.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. FTC Chair Edith Ramirez, who announced the appointment, cited technological issues as a priority for the organization. Sweeney, she said, "has done groundbreaking work in the anonymization of sensitive consumer information and privacy technology, and I look forward to the contributions she will make to the FTC’s efforts to protect consumers.”
Details about Latanya Sweeney's appointment can be found in a press release from the FTC.
