J.R. Smith, CEOAVG Technologies

Introduction• Privacy and cybersecurity are closely linked issues: to

advance the latter it is important to adequately account for the former

• Current political debate revolves around users’ privacy, when really policy makers should be speaking about the control of personal data

• Need to empower individual user to control their privacy—by equipping and enabling the user to choose when, where, and how to invest in their own privacy

• Difficulties in reconciling EU and US approaches to privacy and data protection and the need for a new approach with the user at the center

How we got here• 1996 US Telecommunications Act

– Deregulate broadcasting– The Internet – an emerging reality - included

in broadcasting policy and spectrum allocation

• 1995 EU Data Protection Directive– Launch of the review process in 2011– Commission presented proposal for new

regulation in 2012

Emergence of the smartphone• From the IBM Simon Personal Communicator to

the ubiquitous iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices– In 2011 more smartphones were sold than PCs– In 2013 mobile will take over from PCs as the main

medium for web-access

• Personal cloud will fuel this trend - anytime, anyplace, anywhere access will be the norm

• A whole new host of issues around security and privacy are likely to arise

The current security response: EU and US• EU Data Protection Directive revision. Prevent the

collection of data without an “opt-in” from users• US Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A

Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital

• US Representative Ed Markey’s (D-MA) “discussion draft”, looking at a mobile device privacy act, in response to claims that privacy is being threatened by certain software

• Both the EU and US positions focus on fear rather than vision. Privacy is not the biggest issue in this discussion, but the control of personal data

Outdated global response

• All Internet stakeholders—who more and more are using mobile devices for web access—have reason to be concerned about current policy developments– EU’s outdated government-centric default consumer

opt-out approach– Hybrid FTC-enforced self-regulation proposed by the

White House

• Impending crisis of global interoperability gear clash between the EU and US approaches

The smartphone as a real PC• People cherish their phones and research shows we are

quicker to report our smartphones missing to the authorities than our wallets or purses!

• We take our smartphones with us everywhere, and they are essential for financial affairs, mail, photographs and social media.

Security is therefore a key focus for smartphones, but– People want to share, therefore this is a personal decision– We are willing to give up some privacy as long as we get some

value in return– Consumers have data privacy in their own hands: decisions and

actions

The Third Way on internet security: empower the user

• Win-Win for all stakeholders• No need for one-size-fits-all government

regulation – the role of the context • Facilitation of e-commerce and the power

of the Internet for us all• Consumers can choose, in full knowledge,

how data is used, shared and withheld by whom, when and where