While the relentless current of privacy news this year might have felt difficult to keep up with at times, it certainly made for great water-cooler fodder. In 2019, The Privacy Advisor Podcast's community of listeners grew exponentially, no doubt thanks to the increasing complexity of what it means to be a privacy professional in a time of massive change. In this year-end roundup, we recap the top 10 podcasts of the year according to number of listens. Catch the ones you missed!
What's the status of that federal privacy bill?
It's clear at this point that the momentum has shifted in favor of a federal privacy bill in the U.S. The questions are: What will that bill look like, who will sponsor something both the tech community and advocates can live with, and will it actually happen this year? In this episode, Joseph Jerome, CIPP/US, formerly of the Center for Democracy and Technology (at the time of this recording) but now at Common Sense Media, discussed the difficulties inherent in trying to pass a bill that pleases everybody — or at least one that the disparate and myriad stakeholders can live with.
The CCPA in its final form
In September, the final amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act were introduced, lawmakers voted, and we finally knew what the final version of the CCPA would like like. In this episode, Mary Stone Ross, who worked alongside Alastair Mactaggart to craft what we now know as the CCPA, discussed the last amendments to be introduced to the law before the California Legislature adjourned.
A recap on Congress’ hearings
On Capitol Hill earlier this year, Congress held back-to-back hearings on a potential U.S. privacy bill. The aim was to gain insights from expert witnesses on what such a bill should contain. At the first hearing, at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing, lawmakers asked witnesses whether a U.S. law should model itself on the EU General Data Protection Regulation or perhaps the California Consumer Privacy Act. While industry didn't like that idea, witnesses did agree that the CCPA should be the floor upon which a federal law is built. In this episode, Joe Jerome, CIPP/US, and host Angelique Carson, CIPP/US, recapped the highlights from the hearings.
Santa Clara County’s CPO on building a privacy program from the ground up
In this episode, Michael Shapiro, CIPP/G, CIPP/US, chief privacy officer of Santa Clara County, talked about whether he thinks this is the year for a federal privacy bill, nudged perhaps by the California Consumer Privacy Act. He also discussed building a privacy program from the ground up for an entire county, one that comprises so many different government entities (hospitals, police departments, social services) and with them so many laws and regulations with which to comply. Then, there's the tension between, as a public servant, spending your time on compliance efforts and delegating some time to data use for the public good.
