Foundations of Privacy

Course Number: 17731, 18734

Privacy is a significant concern in modern society. Individuals share personal information with many different organizations - healthcare, financial and educational institutions, the census bureau, Web services providers and online social networks - often in electronic form. Privacy violations occur when such personal information is inappropriately collected, shared or used. We will study privacy in a few settings where rigorous definitions and enforcement mechanisms are being developed - statistical disclosure limitation (as may be used by the census bureau in releasing statistics), semantics and logical specification of privacy policies that constrain information flow and use (e.g., by privacy regulations such as the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), principled audit and accountability mechanisms for enforcing privacy policies, anonymous communication protocols - and other settings in which privacy concerns have prompted much research, such as in social networks, location privacy and Web privacy (in particular, online tracking & targeted advertising).

Academic Year: 2025-2026
Semester(s): Fall
Required/Elective: Required
Units: 12
Prerequisite(s): Some technical background (e.g., a basic understanding of computer systems and the Internet). Students should be familiar with probability, basic calculus, and linear algebra
Location(s): Pittsburgh

Format

Lecture

Textbook(s):

Slides
Textbooks
Scientific papers
Piazza
Optional textbooks

Learning Objectives

Be able to discuss why privacy is important to society
Be familiar with the fair information practice principles as well as the privacy law and policy landscape in the United States
Understand the differences between privacy regulation in the US and EU, and be able to discuss different regulatory approaches to privacy
Be able to read, understand, and evaluate privacy policies
Understand the mechanics of online tracking and other technologies with privacy implications
Be able to communicate the privacy implications of a technology with policy-makers, lawyers, and engineers
Be prepared to pass the IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional exams