8-533 / 8-733 / 19-608 / 95-818: Privacy Policy, Law, and Technology

Privacy Policy Group Assignment

As part of this assignment, our class will draft a privacy policy and accompanying P3P policy for a real web site. The assignment will be done in several parts, which will be assigned as part of homework assignments throughout the semester.

The assignment will be done in small groups, assigned in class on September 16.

This semester we will draft a privacy policy for the Pittsburgh Dynamo Youth Soccer Club.

Part 1 - Due September 30 (as part of HW3)

(I) Review the privacy policies of several other youth sports organizations (one for each member of your group). For each one:

(II) Familiarize yourself with the Pittsburgh Dynamo web site. Make a list of questions you will need to answer in order to draft a privacy policy for Dynamo.

Part 2 - Due October 14 (as part of HW4)

Draft a privacy policy for Dynamo. Format it as an HTML file suitable for posting on the Dynamo web site (but include a note that this is a draft and not the official policy). Submit the HTML file (or if you have multiple files, submit a zip archive) via email.

Your policy will be graded on the following points:

accuracy
Your privacy policy should accurately reflect the organization's information practices.
completeness
Your privacy policy should address at least all of the bullet points on Cranor p. 67.
readability
Your privacy policy should be easy to understand. It should be written in clear, concise, and correct English, and should be carefully proofread. Points will be taken off for sloppy organization, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
formatting
Your privacy policy's formatting should aid reading, with section headings that stand out, lists set off with bullet points, important points or words emphasized, readable fonts, etc. The document should look professional.
usefulness
Your privacy policy should be useful to the organization in that it should address the needs expressed by the organization representatives.

Part 3 - Due October 28 (as part of HW5)

Review the draft privacy policies created by the other teams. Based on your review and the feedback provided in class, create a revised privacy policy. Feel free to cut and paste from other teams' drafts. Once again, format your policy in HTML and submit the files via email. Your policy will again be graded on accuracy, completeness, readability, formatting, and usefulness, as described under Part 2, above.

Part 4 - Due November 16 (as part of HW6)

(I) Create a plan for P3P enabling the Dynamo web sites. Do the following:

(II) Create the necessary P3P files as outlined in your plan. Make sure you validate them!

Submit via email the following files:

Your plan, P3P files, and instructions will be graded on:

rationale
your decisions in (I) should meet the needs of the company, and your rationale should explain how your decisions meet the company's needs
completeness
Dynamo should be able to fully P3P enable their site by simply follow your instructions
correctness
the P3P files you submit should accurately reflect the privacy policy you wrote for Part 3 and should be bug-free