The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is requesting public input on how privacy impact assessments (PIAs) may be more effective at mitigating privacy risks that are further exacerbated by AI technologies.
The request for information (RFI) – made public in the Federal Register today – is required by President Joe Biden’s recent AI executive order. Comments are due on April 1.
“As agency programs and services increasingly rely on rapidly advancing technology and data capabilities (e.g., artificial intelligence), the privacy risk landscape also is evolving. Existing privacy risks are escalating, and new privacy risks are emerging,” the agency wrote.
“It is important to hear from the public as OMB considers what updates to PIA guidance may be necessary to ensure that PIAs continue to facilitate robust analysis and transparency about how agencies address these evolving privacy risks,” OMB added.
The RFI explains that PIAs are a tool agencies use to conduct privacy risk analysis. A PIA is “one of the most valuable tools Federal agencies use to ensure compliance with applicable privacy requirements and manage privacy risks,” the RFI states.
In addition to being a key analytical tool, OMB writes, PIAs also make available to the public agencies’ analysis of privacy risks and safeguards put in place to mitigate those risks.
The Jan. 30 RFI includes nearly a dozen questions from OMB on topics such as improvements to PIA guidance and best practices for conducting the assessments.
Specific to AI, OMB is seeking comments on updates that will improve how agencies address and mitigate the privacy risks that may be associated with their use of emerging technologies.
