Group including UMass Amherst political scientist Jane Fountain lays out numerous actions that can be taken by a presidential administration in 2021
AMHERST, Mass. – A new report published this week details a number of steps that can be taken following the 2020 elections to ensure data security and privacy rights of individuals. The report, published by the National Academy of Public Administration as part of its Academy Election 2020 Project, recommends actions – some new, others building upon efforts currently underway – that the authors believe should be taken in 2021 by the next presidential administration.
“In the digital age, the American people knowingly and unknowingly produce huge amounts of data on a daily basis, and governments at all levels increasingly rely on digital systems to manage their internal operations and deliver public services,” write the authors, who include Jane Fountain, Distinguished University Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and director of the National Center for Digital Government at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Americans need assurance that all sectors will keep their personal data private and safeguarded from abuse, but our data security infrastructure in both the public and the private sectors is vulnerable to exploitations, hacks and breaches.”
Among the recommendations outlined by the Academy’s Working Group on Data Security and Privacy are the creation of a public-private Presidential Commission on privacy and security, the creation of a Workforce Advisory Commission on cybersecurity and privacy and the development and implementation of a policy framework to protect data security and individual privacy. Such policies would include working with Congress to protect consumer online data and enact a comprehensive national data privacy law to protect consumers and foster innovation and economic growth for American companies. They also advise building upon the bipartisan congressional Cyberspace Solarium Commission to implement its recently released recommendations.
“The coronavirus, Black Lives Matter protests and attention to policing have brought the inter-related issues of data privacy and security to the forefront of the news,” Fountain says. “Moreover, with more people working at home, students learning remotely and a surge in online activities, policymakers face a more urgent need to ensure privacy and security of data, transactions and platforms. We hope the report puts data privacy and security on the list of priorities for the next administration.”
Other actions, which the authors say can expand upon already successful administrative and policy initiatives, include: building on the President’s Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals of IT modernization and data, accountability and transparency; protecting the confidentiality of data within the federal statistical system (Census, Bureau of Economic Adjustment, Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc.); strengthening student privacy by endorsing a bill reconciling the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998, and addressing the accountability of educational technology providers, and; creating government policies and administrative procedures in the areas of authentication and identity protection to modernize government services and information provision.
“The administration in 2021 – whether reelected or newly elected – has an opportunity to act quickly and strategically on these issues by leveraging the policy and administrative work that has been done over the last several years and the expertise that exists in the federal and state governments, as well as in the private sector and in academia,” the authors write.
The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization established in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective, accountable, and transparent organizations. Chartered by Congress to provide nonpartisan expert advice, the Academy helps the federal government address its critical management challenges through in-depth studies and analyses, advisory services and technical assistance, congressional testimony, forums and conference, and online stakeholder engagement.
Joining Fountain in the working group to prepare the report were: Costis Toregas, director of the Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute at George Washington University and working group chair; Nick Hart, chief executive officer of Data Coalition; James Hendler, professor of computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Mark Reger, former deputy controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management, U. S. Office of Management and Budget; Priscilla Regan, professor of government and politics and chair of the department of public and international affairs at George Mason University; and Peter Winokur, president and founder of Integrated Safety Solutions, LLC.
The complete report, “Data Privacy and Security: An Agenda for 2021,” is available online at www.NAPAWash.org.