Choose Privacy Week & Free Webinar: Practical Privacy Practices

Last week, the House of Representatives joined the Senate and approved a resolution to remove online privacy rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission. Once the President signs the bill, as he is expected to do, the new rules will allow internet service providers to collect and share user browsing history without requiring consent. Advocates for consumer privacy, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy & Technology, have pushed back against the House and Senate resolution.  

Practical Privacy Practices WebinarIf you are concerned about your own rights to online privacy, and those of your patrons, sign up to attend a free webinar on April 13, sponsored by American Library Association: Practical Privacy Practices. This webinar will highlight actions which libraries can take to protect patron privacy, including how to configure and manage your integrated library system (ILS), how to install free HTTPS certificates, and how to provide anonymous browsing options for your patrons. Speakers include Michael Robinson, chair of ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee's Privacy Subcommittee (and head of the Consortium Library at the University of Alaska Anchorage); Marshall Breeding, consultant and expert on library technology systems; and Alison Macrina, librarian, internet activist and founder/director of the Library Freedom Project.

In response to many requests for information, ALA has published the following: https://chooseprivacyweek.org/how-libraries-can-respond-to-the-repeal-of-the-fcc-privacy-rules/
 
Did you also know about "Choose Privacy Week"? It's an awareness campaign supported by ALA to help patrons understand their own right to privacy in the digital age, similar to Banned Books Week?  ALA describes Choose Privacy Week as a campaign which "gives libraries the tools they need to educate and engage users, and gives citizens the resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy." You can get programming ideas, resources, and more from the site.

CPW 2017

— Updated 4/3/2017