Virtual Workshop Explores Privacy-Preserving Government Data Sharing

Global: Virtual Workshop Explores Privacy-Preserving Government Data Sharing

Workshop Overview

A two‑day virtual workshop convened on May 21 and May 26, 2021, to examine how government agencies can share datasets while protecting individual and organizational privacy. Organized by a coalition of federal research bodies, the event gathered a multinational group of researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to assess the current landscape of data sharing and identify pathways for accelerated progress.

Sponsorship and Participation

The gathering was jointly sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Participants represented a broad spectrum of expertise, including data scientists, privacy engineers, legal scholars, and officials from various governmental departments.

Day One: Emerging Privacy Technologies

During the first day, presenters highlighted successful applications of formal privacy techniques such as differential privacy, the generation of synthetic datasets, and cryptographic methods including secure multiparty computation. Case studies demonstrated how these tools have been deployed to release public data without compromising sensitive information.

Day Two: Challenges and Future Directions

The second session focused on collaborative brainstorming to surface persistent obstacles. Discussions addressed issues such as scalability of privacy-preserving algorithms, alignment of regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions, and the need for standardized evaluation metrics.

Key Recommendations

Attendees produced a set of actionable recommendations, including the development of open-source libraries for privacy tools, increased funding for interdisciplinary research, and the establishment of best‑practice guidelines that can be adopted by multiple agencies.

Implications for Government Data Sharing

If implemented, the proposed measures could enhance the ability of public institutions to disseminate valuable data while adhering to privacy obligations. Improved technical capabilities and clearer policy guidance are expected to foster greater trust among data subjects and encourage broader use of government datasets in research and innovation.

Looking Ahead

The workshop underscored the importance of continued dialogue between technical experts and policymakers. Future gatherings are anticipated to build on these findings, tracking progress and refining strategies as privacy‑preserving technologies evolve.

This report is based on information from arXiv, licensed under Academic Preprint / Open Access. Based on the abstract of the research paper. Full text available via ArXiv.