#NYCPrivacy to Rally at City Hall, May 17, 2017

Contact: Peter Hartmann (646) 307-5940 press@privacyboard.nyc

NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Privacy Board Advocates  (#NYCPrivacy) invite all New Yorkers concerned about privacy to attend an outreach event on the steps of City Hall from 10:45 am to noon on Wednesday, May 17.

#NYCPrivacy supporters demand that the city create strong policies and oversight to keep pace with a torrent of new technologies which have the potential for unintended disclosure of individuals’ data.

“The public should be allowed into the policy discussion concerning the fate of their own information, specifically in deciding what gets protected and from whom.” says Peter Hartmann, co-organizer of #NYCPrivacy and IT consultant. “Having a strong citywide policy, for example, could prevent the LinkNYC advertising partners from collecting data from bystanders. As it is, the LinkNYC privacy policy only protects users of the free WIFI service, not the general public. This is a great concern since this data collection is a very real technical possibility.”   

Supporters of #NYCPrivacy advocate for the creation of a Privacy Guidelines Board to advise city legislators and agencies in the creation of policies that will protect New Yorkers’ data from being misused, as well as to serve as a conduit for receiving the community’s concerns.

“#NYCPrivacy,” Hartmann says, “draws inspiration from the successes of the advisory boards in Seattle and Oakland, which have been created to address the privacy concerns that new technology presents.”

#NYCPrivacy’s position is that since New York City is integrating ever more powerful technologies into a large population, a privacy board representing citizens is urgently needed.

To let your voice be heard in support of this issue, join the NYC Privacy Board Advocates on the steps of City Hall, Wednesday May 17. For more information or to get more involved, please visit https://privacyboard.nyc.

# # #