FTC Member's "Reclaim Your Name" Campaign

Julie Brill
(Image: law.columbia.edu)

FTC member Julie Brill has shown plenty of chutzpah in her efforts to start a campaign on behalf of an individual's right to their own data. It's been a lonely fight, with very powerful forces aligned to stop any such movement in its tracks. The New York Times showed Ms. Brill a little love by running a brief story about her efforts on behalf of citizens and privacy rights.

Data rights are a dicey issue that the tech world, the "wired" media, and online-dependent businesses really doesn't like to discuss. Brill deserves credit for trying to shine a light on practices many enterprises would prefer kept in the shadows and its suckers in the dark.