Jessica Colnago, Federal Trade Commission, Office of Technology
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a dual mandate to promote fair competition and to protect consumers. Data plays an important role in both, as it can be used (or restricted) in a way that illegally hinders competition or that harms consumers. In order to fulfill these duties, it is critical that the agency have technical experts that can help its attorneys better understand the systems at play. For over a hundred years, FTC's staff have worked hard to tackle emerging harms and tech developments. In early 2023 they were complemented with the newly established Office of Technology. In this talk I will cover the basics of the FTC as an agency, its mandate and authorities, and how it approaches technology and privacy. I'll then cover the Office of Technology, the role of a technologist in supporting the FTC's mission, and how the skillset of a privacy engineer aligns with what is needed.
Jessica Colnago, Federal Trade Commission, Office of Technology
Jessica Colnago. Dr. Jessica Colnago is a senior technology advisor in the Federal Trade Commission's Office of Technology, with expertise in machine learning privacy, kids and teens privacy and, more broadly, usable privacy and people's understanding and expectations of privacy. She has experience both in academic and industry environments, performing foundational research and practitioner focused work. Prior to the FTC she was a senior privacy engineer in Google's machine learning privacy team and kids and teens privacy team. Jessica has a bachelors in Computer Engineering, a masters in Computer Science with a focus on Human Computer Interaction, and a masters and PhD in Societal Computing, Computer Science.
author = {Jessica Colnago},
title = {{FTC}, Privacy, and You},
year = {2024},
address = {Santa Clara, CA},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
month = jun
}