Hello everyone,

We would like to share with you comments https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/wikimedia_foundation_comments_on_ntia_privacy_rfc.pdf we submitted last month in response to one of the first open consultation processes discussing a framework for a federal privacy regulation in the U.S. The request for comments https://ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/fr-rfc-consumer-privacy-09262018.pdf was issued by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that advises on telecommunications policies, in this case: on consumer privacy. You may read all of the comments submitted at the NTIA’s website https://www.ntia.doc.gov/other-publication/2018/comments-developing-administration-s-approach-consumer-privacy. We felt it was important to give input here based on the Wikimedia Foundation’s unique perspective on privacy and data protection.

Privacy is an important policy priority at the Wikimedia Foundation. When, in 2013, revelations revealed the depth of the NSA’s surveillance into online activity, Wikipedia usage changed demonstrably https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2769645. Research has shown that people act differently when they worry their actions or communications aren’t private, and that is the heart of why privacy is so important to the Wikimedia movement. This is why we made the switch to HTTPS in 2015 https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/12/securing-wikimedia-sites-with-https/, and why we are currently engaged in a lawsuit https://policy.wikimedia.org/stopsurveillance/ challenging those very same “Upstream” surveillance practices.

Privacy does not only mean protection from government eyes, and increasingly, the topic of platforms collecting and selling data has been the center of conversations about privacy in the U.S. In our comments, we highlight how we are one of the few large internet platforms that does not rely on the tracking or sale of user data to generate revenue, and we incorporate this aspirational perspective when discussing the NTIA’s proposed framework. Our comments welcome a much-needed harmonization of privacy laws in the United States if done right, and suggest that the NTIA needs greater clarity and a more clear focus on user-impact in order to do so.

We invite you to think about privacy as a priority for the future of free knowledge, and what that means for the Wikimedia movement as privacy rules and regulations become more prevalent in the U.S. and abroad.

Best, Allison