CRA Digital Government Fellows Program

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"Crossed Signals: Internet Privacy Policies and User Concerns"
Annie I. Antón, North Carolina State University

March 12, 2003
10:00-11:00 AM

Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC
601 New Jersey Ave., N.W.

Dr. Annie Antón's primary research area is in the study of methods and tools to support the specification of complete, correct behavior of software systems used in environments that pose risks of loss as a consequence of failures and misuse. This includes Web-based and e-commerce systems in which the security of personal and private information is particularly vulnerable.

Antón is the founder and director of ThePrivacyPlace.org, a research group of students and faculty at NCSU and Georgia Tech. She is leading this group in the development of technology to assist practitioners and policy makers in meeting the challenge of eliciting and expressing policies (a form of requirements). These tools help ensure that privacy policies are aligned with the software systems that they govern. ThePrivacyPlace.org is funded by an NSF ITR Grant entitled "Aligning Societal Values, Privacy Policy, and IT Requirements."

In her talk, Antón discussed the notable discrepancy that exists between what Internet privacy policies are currently stating and what users deem most significant, suggesting steps that should be taken to ensure that the average user can protect their privacy online.

Dr. Antón is a three-time graduate of the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, receiving a Ph.D. in 1997 with a minor in Management & Public Policy, an M.S. in 1992, and a B.S. 1990 with a minor in Technical and Business Communication.