Ilana Ullman, United States
One-year MAPP,
Class of 2016
Google Policy Fellow, Center on Privacy & Technology, Georgetown University Law Center
I'm currently a Google Policy Fellow at the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown University Law Center. For much of the past year, the center has been conducting research for a report on law enforcement use of facial recognition technology. This is based on Freedom of Information requests filed with 100 jurisdictions in the United States. The report will be released early this fall and, without giving too much away, there are some pretty interesting (even concerning) findings. It's also troubling that even after extensive research, there's still a lot we don't know about facial recognition technology—including how accurate it is and what privacy policies and procedures are in place.
It has been interesting to learn more about facial recognition technology and other biometric privacy issues that I haven't had the opportunity to work on extensively before now. I've also learned a lot about what is involved in producing a specialized report like this – not just the research and writing but also how to package a report for different audiences, creating a media strategy, and how to best craft recommendations that will hopefully be implemented by law enforcement agencies and policymakers. This fellowship has given me a new perspective on how to write about and advocate for privacy issues in an often-changing and complicated field. I've also really benefited from having more hands-on policy experience.
Getting to meet and to know the other Google Policy fellows has been wonderful. A lot of us are working on very different issues within the broad field of tech policy, so it's been fascinating to learn more about the issues they and their organizations are working on. Google has also hosted biweekly meetings with experts on different tech policy issues such as copyright and broadband infrastructure, so we have been able to hear about what it's like to work on these topics, and to ask questions about how professionals dealing with these issues got to where they are in their careers. Most of the other fellows are based in Washington, DC, so we've organized informal happy hour gatherings and shared information about different tech policy events going on in the city.
I worked and lived in DC for several years before I enrolled at CEU, and so I've enjoyed catching up with friends I haven't seen in a while and revisiting some of my favorite places. A lot has changed since I left, so it's been exciting to rediscover the city. DC attracts a lot of people who are passionate about the work they do.
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