Privacy & Consumer Protection: What to Expect in 2010

Credit EligibleAs a BankInfoSecurity.com annual member, this content can be used toward your membership credits and transcript tracking. Click For More Info

Privacy, data security and consumer protection - three of the top concerns to organizations everywhere. And they are three of the topics nearest and dearest to Lydia Parnes, former director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Now a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Parnes works with organizations to ensure their privacy and security policies. In an exclusive interview, Parnes discusses:

Parnes' current practice focuses on privacy, data security, Internet advertising, and general advertising and marketing practices.

The former director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), she is a highly regarded expert in the field of consumer protection. As director of the BCP, one of the FTC's two law-enforcement bureaus and the nation's only federal consumer-protection agency, Parnes oversaw the enforcement of a wide range of laws designed to prevent fraud and deception in the commercial marketplace, safeguard consumer privacy, and provide consumers with important information about the goods and services they purchase. She also represented the bureau in international settings and on Capitol Hill in connection with such high-profile issues as information security and privacy, Internet advertising, and identity theft. In addition, Lydia has extensive experience with the application of consumer-protection principles to the technology market. In 2006, she served as the deputy executive director of the President's Task Force on Identity Theft, coordinating the efforts of 17 federal agencies in developing a national strategic plan to combat identity theft in both the private and public sectors.

Click to Get Updates on the Latest Information Security News

Company* Title* Email* Subscription Type: HTML Text Healthcare Enews General Healthcare Enews Blogs Enews Careers Enews Training Enews Webinars Enews Podcasts Enews White Papers Enews Government Enews General Government Enews Blogs Enews Careers Enews Training Enews Webinars Enews Podcasts Enews White Papers Enews Banking Enews General Banking Enews Blogs Enews Careers Enews Training Enews Webinars Enews Podcasts Enews White Papers Enews Credit Union Enews General Credit Union Enews Blogs Enews Careers Enews Training Enews Webinars Enews Podcasts Enews White Papers Enews Need Help?

TOM FIELD: What are some of the top trends in consumer regulatory and privacy in 2010? Hi, this is Tom Field, Editorial Director with Information Security Media Group. We are talking today with Lydia Parnes ,who is a partner with the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.

Lydia, thanks so much for joining me today.

LYDIA PARNES: Oh, it's a pleasure, Tom.

FIELD: Just to get us started here, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background, particularly with the FTC and then your firm and what you are doing now?

PARNES: Sure. So this firm actually is kind of a good place to start. The firm is, as many of your listeners may know, headquartered in Silicon Valley, and it has nine offices in financial and technology hubs in the U.S. and in Asia, and it has an extensive technology practice. It represents many of the leading technology companies in the country, and it has a very strong regulatory government practice as well.

And that is really where I come in. I joined Wilson Sonsini in early 2009 from the Federal Trade Commission. I had a 27-year career at the Commission. Almost all of my time there was in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, dealing with just a wide variety of consumer issues. You know, the kinds of questions like when is a company responsible for claims made by bloggers; when can you say that your products are made in the U.S.A.; what type of support do you need to make an environmentally friendly claim? And my last four and half years at the Commission, I was the Director at the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and I spent a considerable amount of my personal time on issues involving consumer privacy and data security.

FIELD: Lydia, what are some of the biggest issues you find yourself involved with now at Wilson Sonsini?

PARNES: I would say probably the biggest issue, or certainly one of the biggest issues, is online behavioral advertising. So as you know, online advertising is driven largely by the ability to target ads to consumers based on their interests, and to target effectively, to get the right ad to the right consumers, companies collect and use data on consumers as they shop and explore online. Well, advocates and government regulators, and some consumers also, are expressing concern about the privacy implications of this data collection and use.