The Privacy Projects launches to fund evidence-based privacy research

The Privacy Projects (TPP) intends to fund academic research into “evidence-based” privacy to enhance policies, practices and tools necessary to meet the power of the new technologies.

Funded by the proceeds of the sale of the assets of TRUSTe, TPP will be “an independent voice for what can come next” as companies, governments and consumer advocates consider, develop and deploy information-driven businesses with data protection and privacy built in.

The new group’s first research paper, written by UC Berkeley Professor Paul M. Schwartz, focuses on how six global corporations control cross-border data flows to meet customer needs while complying with multiple, local regulation. Additional research will expand on the ways in which data policies, practices, and technology tools can evolve to meet the current needs of all players.

Richard Purcell, CEO of Corporate Privacy Group and Chairman of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, was the first Chief Privacy Officer at Microsoft and is chairman emeritus of TRUSTe. He is joined by six privacy luminaries on the board of TPP. The six are:

• Joe Alhadeff, Chairman of The Privacy Projects, is the Vice President, Global Public Policy and Chief Privacy Officer for Oracle.
• Fred Cate is a Distinguished Professor, C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Informatics at Indiana University.
• Stanley Crosley is the Chief Privacy Officer at pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company.
• Peter Cullen, Secretary of The Privacy Projects, is General Manager, Trustworthy Computing and Chief Privacy Strategist at Microsoft.
• Audrey Plonk is Global Security and Internet Policy Specialist at Intel Corporation.
• Jules Polonetsky is the co-chair and director of the Future of Privacy Forum.