Stuart Ingis '93 gave a talk titled "The Policy of Privacy" concerning Internet law and privacy protection on Thursday, April 24. Ingis, a partner in the law firm of Venable LLP, discussed current topics of debate around Internet policy and the possible implications that shaping Internet policy has for democracy in the near and distant future.
Ingis began with an overview of the presence of the Venable law firm in some of the most notable Internet policy laws. The Venable law firm has been involved in the formulation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Health Insurance Portability Accountability (HIPAC) as well as the Do-Not-Call Registry. These policies have not only broken new ground in the sphere of privacy and protection, but have also become examples of how to create successful policy when facing the challenging issues of protecting privacy, especially in regard to the Internet.
Ingis continued with a discussion of the most current issues shaping privacy protection debate. These issues include security breaching, behavioral advertising, direct mail and social networking. He went on to explain that security breaching, a problem that can also lead to identity theft, is becoming more of a threat due to increased sophistication of computer hackers and the media attention surrounding this issue. While there is still no Congressional policy concerning security breaching, many states have passed laws addressing the issue.
Ingis defined behavioral advertising as a "tracking of consumer activities online, including searches the consumer has conducted, web pages visited, and so on, in order to deliver advertising targeted to that consumer." The issue of behavioral advertising has led to several transparency and control standards, and is perhaps the most widely debated topic in the issue-area of privacy protection.
The Do-Not-Mail threats are also growing and mutating, according to Ingis. There is an ever-expanding philanthropic support to eliminate direct mail that consumers do not want, including catalogues and what is considered "junk mail." Policies that address this consumer choice to receive such mail, as well as environmental concerns over the restrictions and recycling of paper, have made the issue of direct mail a growing legal debate.
Finally, Ingis discussed the privacy violations of Social Networking, including sites such as MySpace and Facebook that he claims can be "stalking ground for predators." One issue that is currently debated is how to address authentication issues so as to protect the target age group, 13-18 year-olds, while at the same time allowing relative freedom of Internet users.
Ingis is a nationally recognized expert on Internet law who represents clients in federal privacy and Internet-related legislation and rulemaking proceedings. A graduate of Hamilton College and Villanova University Law School, Ingis is the co-author of Privacy Protection in the United States: A Survey. He was a primary draftsperson of the advertising and consumer protection section of the American Bar Association's millennium plenary paper on Internet jurisdiction.
The lecture was sponsored by the Dean of Faculty and hosted by the Government Department.
-- by Danielle Raulli '10
Ingis began with an overview of the presence of the Venable law firm in some of the most notable Internet policy laws. The Venable law firm has been involved in the formulation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Health Insurance Portability Accountability (HIPAC) as well as the Do-Not-Call Registry. These policies have not only broken new ground in the sphere of privacy and protection, but have also become examples of how to create successful policy when facing the challenging issues of protecting privacy, especially in regard to the Internet.
Ingis continued with a discussion of the most current issues shaping privacy protection debate. These issues include security breaching, behavioral advertising, direct mail and social networking. He went on to explain that security breaching, a problem that can also lead to identity theft, is becoming more of a threat due to increased sophistication of computer hackers and the media attention surrounding this issue. While there is still no Congressional policy concerning security breaching, many states have passed laws addressing the issue.
Ingis defined behavioral advertising as a "tracking of consumer activities online, including searches the consumer has conducted, web pages visited, and so on, in order to deliver advertising targeted to that consumer." The issue of behavioral advertising has led to several transparency and control standards, and is perhaps the most widely debated topic in the issue-area of privacy protection.
The Do-Not-Mail threats are also growing and mutating, according to Ingis. There is an ever-expanding philanthropic support to eliminate direct mail that consumers do not want, including catalogues and what is considered "junk mail." Policies that address this consumer choice to receive such mail, as well as environmental concerns over the restrictions and recycling of paper, have made the issue of direct mail a growing legal debate.
Finally, Ingis discussed the privacy violations of Social Networking, including sites such as MySpace and Facebook that he claims can be "stalking ground for predators." One issue that is currently debated is how to address authentication issues so as to protect the target age group, 13-18 year-olds, while at the same time allowing relative freedom of Internet users.
Ingis is a nationally recognized expert on Internet law who represents clients in federal privacy and Internet-related legislation and rulemaking proceedings. A graduate of Hamilton College and Villanova University Law School, Ingis is the co-author of Privacy Protection in the United States: A Survey. He was a primary draftsperson of the advertising and consumer protection section of the American Bar Association's millennium plenary paper on Internet jurisdiction.
The lecture was sponsored by the Dean of Faculty and hosted by the Government Department.
-- by Danielle Raulli '10
