Jan 18 2010 20 mins 3
Privacy, data security and consumer protection - three of the top concerns to organizations everywhere. And they are three of the topics nearest and dearest to Lydia Parnes, former director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Now a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Parnes works with organizations to ensure their privacy and security policies. In an exclusive interview, Parnes discusses:
Parnes' current practice focuses on privacy, data security, Internet advertising, and general advertising and marketing practices.
The former director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), she is a highly regarded expert in the field of consumer protection. As director of the BCP, one of the FTC's two law-enforcement bureaus and the nation's only federal consumer-protection agency, Parnes oversaw the enforcement of a wide range of laws designed to prevent fraud and deception in the commercial marketplace, safeguard consumer privacy, and provide consumers with important information about the goods and services they purchase. She also represented the bureau in international settings and on Capitol Hill in connection with such high-profile issues as information security and privacy, Internet advertising, and identity theft. In addition, Lydia has extensive experience with the application of consumer-protection principles to the technology market. In 2006, she served as the deputy executive director of the President's Task Force on Identity Theft, coordinating the efforts of 17 federal agencies in developing a national strategic plan to combat identity theft in both the private and public sectors.
