Programme Committee

Martin Abrams is Executive Director and Chief Strategist at The Information Accountability Foundation. He has over 35 years of experience as an information and consumer policy innovator. Multi-stakeholder collaboration has been a key for Abrams in developing practical solutions to dilemmas in information policy.

His most recent work has been on big data governance and privacy compliance driven by demonstrable data stewardship. Abrams paper, “The Unified Ethical Frame for Big Data Analysis” created the way forward for ethical based assessment when using advanced analytics (“big data”), and a means for broadening the use of the European concept of legitimate interests. Currently he is leading a Canadian project to design an ethical based assessment process when consent is not fully effective in protecting individuals.

He led the Global Accountability Project, which has refined the accountability principle that is part of various data protection laws and guidance documents. The IAF is the incorporation of that dialogue. All the IAF’s work is an extension of accountability concepts, including the creation of a data taxonomy that was used in setting the bright line rules by the EU Working Party 29 for data portability.

In 2017, Abrams and the IAF will turn to building ethics into privacy by design for artificial intelligence.

Abrams has organised conferences and seminars on every continent. He was the principle advisor to the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in 2011 and has been an advisor to numerous others.

Prior to his work at the foundation, Abrams was the co-founder and President of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP, which he led for 13 years. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Information Policy at Experian and Director of Information Policy at TRW Information Systems, where he designed one of the earliest privacy impact assessment tools. He also chaired their Consumer Advisory Council. Abrams began his consumer policy work at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, where he was Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer. At the Federal Reserve Bank, he drove collaboration by helping banks and the communities they serve find their intersection of self-interest.

Abrams continues to seek practical solutions to assure information driven innovation with personal dignity at The Information Accountability Foundation.