Senator Leahy, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee has been a long-time advocate for consumers, especially on privacy and security related issues. Senator Leahy will speak on the issues of the day, including domestic surveillance, data security and privacy in general.

In 2005, the spread of state laws regulating information security and consumer control of consumer reports moved many companies to clamor for a federal law to govern privacy. A long-time opponent of privacy legislation, Microsoft, formally proposed an outline for laws to govern privacy comprehensively, online and off. Other companies have come out in support of a comprehensive approach.

This panel will explore the question or whether the United States should adopt comprehensive privacy legislation on the federal level. The discussion will examine the current legal framework in the U.S., and well as several different models for a comprehensive federal law; and will explore options that will create robust and meaningful protections for consumers, while avoiding unnecessary obstacles and complexity for businesses and other organizations that must comply.

Panelists:
James M. Assey, Jr., Senior Democratic Counsel for the Communications Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee
Michael Hintze, Senior Attorney, Legal and Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation
Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Senior Counsel, the Electronic Privacy Information Center; Director, EPIC’s West Coast Office
Daniel J. Solove, Associate Professor, George Washington University Law School
Patrick Van Eecke

Organizers:
Chris Hoofnagle, EPIC
Mike Hintze, Microsoft

In April, 2004 President Bush signed an Executive Order calling for most Americans to have electronic health records (EHRs) within 10 years. The order created a new Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and also mandated the updating of the nation's medical information systems and the development of a National Health Information Network (NHIN) where patients' digitized medical records would be placed. The NHIN would be accessible to hospitals, insurors, doctors, and unspecified others. Such a network brings patient privacy, security, and confidentiality issues into sharp relief. This panel will look at these concerns and how they will or should be addressed by the NHIN's technical structure and operating policies.

Panelists:
William Braithwaite, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, ehealth Initiative
Maya Bernstein, Privacy Advocate, US Department of Health and Human Services
Pam Dixon, World Privacy Forum
Robert Gellman, Privacy and Information Policy Consultant, Washington, DC

Organizer:
Linda Ackerman, Privacy Activism

 

Since the N.Y. Times broke the story of the NSA wiretap program, there has been unprecedented debate and public attention to the special legal rules about wiretapping for national security reasons. This panel includes Eric Lichtblau, one of the Times reporters who broke the story, Jim Bamford, the leading author about the National Security Agency, and Mort Halperin, who was a target of government wiretapping in the 1970s and has played a key role in the legislative battles both then and today. One topic of special attention will be the role of the telecommunications companies and their cooperation with the government. The panel will also discuss the role of secrecy in intelligence activities, and how to integrate that with public knowledge about the workings of government.

Panelists:
Jim Bamford, author about the National Security Agency
Mort Halperin, leading wiretap expert from the 1970s to today
Eric Lichtblau, won Pulitzer Prize for exposing NSA wiretap program

Moderator and Organizer:
Pete Swire, Professor, Moritz College of Law of the Ohio State University

 

Join EFF on Wednesday, May 3rd, at our Fifteenth Annual Pioneer Awards Ceremony. The event will take place at the International Spy Museum.

Hors d'oeuvres and wine will be served, and guests will also have the opportunity to tour the Spy Museum. The Pioneer Awards ceremony is free, and is open to all CFP attendees. Please bring your nametag to show your affiliation with the conference.

Buses will arrive at the hotel at 6:30 p.m. to transport guests to the Spy Museum.

We look forward to seeing you on May 3rd as we honor our 2006 Pioneer Award Winners!