5/17. The Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee (TAPAC) released a report [140 pages in PDF] titled "Safeguarding Privacy in the Fight Against Terrorism" regarding data mining by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the rest of the federal government, the DARPA's Total Information Awareness program, and individual privacy.

It concludes that data mining is an important tool for fighting terrorism, and should be used, but with more concern for the protecting individual data privacy of U.S. persons.

The report was written in March, but not released to the public until May 17. The TAPAC is a federal advisory committee that advises the Secretary of Defense. See, TAPAC Charter [PDF].

The Department of Defense (DOD) established this committee in February of 2003 in response to Congressional concerns about the data privacy implications of the DOD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Total Information Awareness (TIA) program, which has since been terminated. See, story titled "DOD Establishes Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 620, March 11, 2003.

The report concludes that "TIA was a flawed effort to achieve worthwhile ends. It was flawed by its perceived insensitivity to critical privacy issues, the manner in which it was presented to the public, and the lack of clarity and consistency with which it was described. DARPA stumbled badly in its handling of TIA".

It also concludes that "Data mining is a vital tool in the fight against terrorism, but when used in connection with personal data concerning U.S. persons, data mining can present significant privacy issues."

It continues that "when data mining involves the government accessing personally identifiable information about U.S. persons, it also raises privacy issues. The magnitude of those issues varies depending upon many factors, including: the sensitivity of the data being mined, the expectation of privacy reasonably associated with the data, the consequences of an individual being identified by an inquiry, and the number (or percentage) of U.S. persons identified in response to an inquiry who have not otherwise done anything to warrant government suspicion."

The report also concludes that "Existing legal requirements applicable to the government’s many data mining programs are numerous, but disjointed and often outdated, and as a result may compromise the protection of privacy, public confidence, and the nation’s ability to craft effective and lawful responses to terrorism."

The report also offers several recommendations for the DOD. The DOD should safeguard privacy of U.S. persons when using data ming. The DOD should "establish a regulatory framework applicable to all data mining" by the DOD, including "a written finding by agency heads authorizing data mining; minimum technical requirements for data mining systems (including data minimization, data anonymization, creation of an audit trail, security and access controls, and training for personnel involved in data mining); special protections for data mining involving databases from other government agencies or from private industry; authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before engaging in data mining with personally identifiable information concerning U.S. persons or reidentifying previously anonymized information concerning U.S. persons; and regular audits to ensure compliance."

The report also recommends that the DOD should create a "policy-level privacy officer" and "a panel of external advisors" to advise on informational privacy issues. It also recommends that the DOD create oversight mechanisms, and "work to ensure a culture of sensitivity to, and knowledge about, privacy issues".

Finally, the report contains recommendations for all government entities. For example, it recommends that "The Secretary should recommend that Congress and the President establish one framework of legal, technological, training, and oversight mechanisms necessary to guarantee the privacy."

The TAPAC is chaired by Newton Minow (Northwestern University). Its other members include Floyd Abrams (Cahill Gordon & Reindel), Zoe Baird (President of the Markle Foundation), Griffin Bell (King & Spalding), Gerhard Casper (Stanford University Law School), William Coleman (Chief Customer Advocate of BEA), and Lloyd Cutler (Wilmer Cutler & Pickering).

5/17. The European Commission announced that it "adopted a formal Decision that will bring on stream shortly new commitments by the US Government, guaranteeing protection in the US for the personal data of transatlantic air passengers. The Decision indicates that the Commission considers that the data on air passengers transferred to the US authorities enjoys the ``adequate protection´´ required under the EU's data protection Directive for data sent to countries outside the EU." See, EC release.

European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein (at right) stated that "A negotiated solution is never perfect, especially when you are up against a law adopted by the US Congress in the understandable conviction that it is vital to protect the US against terrorism. But US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was very constructive and we came up with a balanced solution, which the Member States have supported."

Bolkestein added that "The European Parliament has taken a different view, but the Commission considers that the negotiated solution will improve the situation for EU citizens and airlines by bringing on stream important guarantees from the US on the respect of data protection rights and enhanced legal certainty."

The White House also issued a release. It states that "The Department of Homeland Security applauds today’s announcement from the European Commission that it has issued an ``adequacy finding´´ for the transfer of airline passenger name record (PNR) data to the Department of Homeland Security. This decision was the result of over a year of negotiations between the United States and the European Commission."

The White House release adds that "The use of this data is critical in combating and preventing terrorism and serious trans-national criminal activity. The European Commission made its decision based on the fact that this measure not only improves the security of air travel between the United States and Europe, but also adequately protects the privacy of individual air passengers. This is a momentous decision for our international cooperative efforts."

5/13. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S 2421, the "Health Care Modernization, Cost Reduction, and Quality Improvement Act". The bill addresses many topics, including the use of information technology in health care.

The bill would create a grant program, a loan fund program, and a loan guarantee program to federally fund a conversion to electronic records. On April 27 President Bush gave a speech in which he proposed converting to electronic records. However, he advocated a government role in setting standards for interoperability, in protecting privacy, and in implementing a "strategic plan". He did not propose federal subsidies or other funding.

The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Sen. Kennedy is the ranking Democrat on the Committee.

He stated in the Senate that "The potential savings through modern technology are immense. Transactions in health care cost $12 to $25 apiece. Brokers and bankers used to have similar costs, but now, a transaction in these industries costs less than one cent. Information technology can also improve the quality of care, at the same time it reduces costs. Automated patient record-keeping can help bring real coordination to what is often a frighteningly fragmented health care system."

Sen. Kennedy added that "To assure that modern information technology will be fully utilized in health care, the legislation sets a goal of full implementation of a broad-based system of electronic medical records and automated bill-paying. It authorizes grants, loans and loan guarantees for health providers to install and implement clinical information systems that meet national technical standards for parameters such as security and interoperability."

"The bill also offers larger reimbursements for providers who implement these types of information systems. Over a period of time, it reduces payments for large health care facilities that fail to do so. The legislation also encourages the use of information technology to reduce the administrative costs, by requiring insurance companies to adopt the same types of computerized transaction-processing systems that are the norm in other industries", said Sen. Kennedy.

The bill provides that the Secretary of Health and Human Services "shall award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to assist such entities to acquire, develop, enhance, or implement (including the training of personnel needed for effective implementation) qualified clinical informatics systems". (Parentheses in original.)

The bill defines a "qualified clinical informatics system" as "a computerized system (including both hardware and software components of such system) that", among other things, "maintains and provides immediate access to patients' medical records in an electronic format". (Parentheses in original.)

The bill also provides for a revolving loan fund, and loan guarantees. The bill authorizes the appropriations of an unspecified amount to fund these grant, loan fund, an loan guarantee programs.

The bill also provides that "the Secretary shall develop or adopt technical standards for qualified clinical informatics systems"

On April 27, 2004, President Bush gave a speech in Baltimore, Maryland in which he advocated the use of electronic records in the health care industry. He also issued an executive order regarding "the development and nationwide implementation of an interoperable health information technology infrastructure". See, story titled "President Bush Advocates Conversion to Electronic Medical Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 886, April 28, 2004.

5/17. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Los Angeles News Service v. Reuters Television, a case arising out of the Los Angeles News Service's (LANS) enforcement of its copyrights in video of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. This is Sup. Ct. No. 03-965. See, Order List [14 pages in PDF], at page 2. See also, story titled "9th Circuit Issues Another Opinion in LANS v. Reuters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 728, August 28, 2004.

5/17. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Phonometrics v. Hospitality Franchise, a patent case. This is Sup. Ct. No. 03-1255. See, Order List [14 pages in PDF], at page 2.

5/17. The Supreme Court released several non-technology related opinions, and announced that it "will take a recess from today until Monday, May 24, 2004". See, Order List [14 pages in PDF], at page 14.

5/17. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Duane Ackerman (Ch/CEO of BellSouth), and Patricia Russo (Ch/CEO of Lucent) to the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. See, White House release.

5/17. President Bush nominated Michael Schneider to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. See, White House release.

5/17. Clyde Wayne Crews joined the Competitive Enterprise Institute as Vice President for Policy and Director of Technology Studies. He previously worked at the Cato Institute.

5/17. Linda Koontz, Director of Information Management Issues at the General Accounting Office (GAO), wrote a letter [17 pages in PDF] to Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, regarding "Computer-Based Patient Records: Subcommittee Questions Concerning VA and DOD Efforts to Achieve a Two-Way Exchange of Health Data".

5/14. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report [PDF] titled "Information Technology: Early Releases of Customs Trade System Operating, but Pattern of Cost and Schedule Problems Needs to Be Addressed".

5/13. Nine Senators who are members of the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force wrote a letter [PDF] to Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), the Majority Leader of the Senate requesting a floor vote in the Senate on HR 1561, the USPTO fee bill, before the end of the current session. This bill contains increases in user fees that implement the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) 21st Century Strategic Plan. It also provides for U.S. outsourcing of patent searches, and an end to the diversion of user fees to subsidize other government programs. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill on April 29, 2004. See, story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Four Intellectual Property Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 888, April 30, 2004. The House passed this bill on March 3, 2004 by a vote of 379-28. See, Roll Call No. 38. See also, story titled "House Passes USPTO Fee Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 849, March 4, 2004. The nine Senators are John Ensign (R-NV), Wayne Allard (R-CO), George Allen (R-VA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Conrad Burns (R-MT), John Sununu (R-NH), Jim Bunning (Kentucky), and Gordon Smith (R-OR). They wrote that "Intellectual Property rights protection provides America an edge in the world economy and supports new developments in high-tech. Patents and trademarks encourage invention, innovation and investment for companies large and small."

5/13. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a meeting at which John Muleta (Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau), Dane Snowden (Chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau), and Bill Maher (Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau) gave a status report on number portability. See, FCC release [PDF], and presentation slides [13 pages in PDF]. Chairman Michael Powell stated that he had ported numbers, and had no difficulty. After the meeting, Powell met with reporters. He was asked, "So whose phone did you port?" He answered, "I'm not telling."

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour, and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House will consideration several non-technology related items. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. George Mason University (GMU) will host a symposium titled "Information Technology for Homeland Security". See, agenda and registration pages. Location: GMU, Fairfax Campus, Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Vista Communications v. FCC, Nos. 01-1168 and 03-1281. Judges Edwards, Sentelle and Henderson will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in Federal Register, April 12, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 70, at Pages 19183 - 19184. Location: Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Common Carrier Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Meet Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Bill Maher". The FCBA states that this will be an opportunity "to hear directly from the Bureau Chief about all the major issues facing the Bureau -- unbundled network element negotiations and the future of the Triennial Review, the VOIP proceedings, intercarrier compensation reform, universal service reform, and other matters". For more information, contact Matt Brill, Jonathan Banks, or David Sieradzki, Co-Chairs of the FCBA's Common Carrier Practice Committee. RSVP to Cecelia Burnett at 202 637-8312. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW, Lower Level.

1:30 - 2:00 PM. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, Under Secretary for Technology Phillip Bond, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Arden Bement, and others will release a report titled "Standards and Competitiveness -- Coordination for Results". See, notice. Location: main lobby, Commerce Department, 14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW.

1:30 - 3:00 PM. (or 2:00 - 4:00 PM?) The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) World RadioCommunication 2007 (WRC-07) Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group on Terrestrial and Space Science Services will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, South Conference Room, 6th Floor, Room 6-B516.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a two day closed meeting of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) to discuss "cyber-related vulnerabilities of the internet". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 16, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 74, at Pages 20635 - 20636. Location: undisclosed.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the CompTel/Ascent titled "Advancing the Business of VOIP". See, notice. Location: Renaissance Mayflower Hotel.

Day two of a three day conference of the American Cable Association. See, notice. Location: Wyndham Hotel.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day closed meeting of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) to discuss "cyber-related vulnerabilities of the internet". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 16, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 74, at Pages 20635 - 20636. Location: undisclosed.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "From Public Service to Private Sector: Spinning the Revolving Door for Personal Gain". The witnesses will be Joseph Schmitz (Inspector General, Department of Defense), Daniel Dell'Orto (Department of Defense), Colonel Richard O'Keeffe (Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army), Robert Parker (Paul Weiss Rifkind), and Danielle Brian (Project on Government Oversight). See, notice. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will preside. The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Rebecca Fisher at 202 224-2670. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Wireless Broadband Forum". See, notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: FCC, Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room), 445 12th Street, SW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Competition in the Communications Marketplace: How Convergence Is Blurring the Lines Between Voice, Video, and Data Services". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. See, notice. Press contacts: Jon Tripp (Barton) at 202 225-5735 or Sean Bonyun (Upton) 202 225-3761. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census will hold a hearing titled "Federal Enterprise Architecture: A Blueprint for Improved Federal IT Investment & Cross-Agency Collaboration and Information Sharing". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) World RadioCommunication 2007 (WRC-07) Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group on IMT-2000 and 2.5 GHz Sharing Issues will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF]. For more information, contact Cecily Cohen at 202 887-5210. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, South Conference Room, 6th Floor, Room 6-B516.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the CompTel/Ascent titled "Advancing the Business of VOIP". See, notice. Location: Renaissance Mayflower Hotel.

Day three of a three day conference of the American Cable Association. See, notice. Location: Wyndham Hotel.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing regarding the CAN SPAM Act. The witnesses will be Timothy Muris (Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission), Jana Monroe (FBI Cyber Division), Ted Leonsis (Vice Chairman of AOL), Shinya Akamine (P/CEO of Postini), Hans Peter Brondmo (Digital Impact, Inc.), James Guest (Consumers Union), and Ronald Scelson (Scelson Online Marketing). The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Rebecca Fisher at 202 224-2670. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting to mark up bills. It will then hold a hearing titled "FBI Oversight: Terrorism and Other Topics". See, notice of business meeting and notice of hearing. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 - 10:00 AM. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will host an event titled "press breakfast". RSVP to Anne Perkins (Adelstein's Special Assistant for Legislative and Media Affairs) at 202 418-2314 by May 19. Location: FCC, 8th Floor Conference Room 1, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Derivative Rights, Moral Rights, and Movie Filtering Technology". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold another hearing on intellectual property. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The World RadioCommunication 2007 (WRC-07) Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group 5: Regulatory Issues will meet. Location: Boeing, Arlington, VA.

12:00 NOON. The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a panel discussion titled "Wiretapping the Internet: Is VOIP Different?" The speakers will be James Dempsey (Center for Democracy & Technology), Anthony Rutkowski (VeriSign), and Mike Warren (Fiducianet). RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. Lunch will be served. Location: Reserve Officers Association, 1st and Constitution, NE (between the Dirksen Building and the Supreme Court).

2:00 - 4:00 PM. Several groups will hold a workshop on the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The speakers will include Glenn Schlarman (OMB), Drew Arenas (Verizon), Stuart Katzke (NIST), Bob Dix (House Government Reform Committee), Mike Jacobs (SRA), Lance Hoffman (George Washington University), Allen Paller (SANS Institute), and Werner Lippuner (Ernst & Young). The hosting groups are the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), the Council for Excellence in Government (CEG), the Cyber Security and Policy Research Institute of George Washington University, and the American Council for Technology. RSVP to Danielle Wiblemo at dani@cdt.org. Location: Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding its interim rule pertaining to receiving and protecting critical infrastructure information (CII). This rule pertains to the Homeland Security Act's exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for certain information about critical infrastructures, such as cyber security, that is voluntarily provided to the federal government. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 20, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 34, at Pages 8073 - 8089. See also, story titled "DHS Announces Adoption of Rules Implementing the Critical Infrastructure Information Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 840, February 19, 2004.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) titled "Freedom 2.0: Distributed Democracy". The topics to be addressed include the reliability of electronic voting systems, enabling public participation, government accountability, secrecy and surveillance, Freedom of Information Act, open government initiatives, privacy enhancing technologies, anonymity and identity, trans border data flows, radio frequency identification (RFID), biometrics, Civil Society, World Summit on the Information Society, United Nations Information and Communications Technology Task Force, ICANN, and UNESCO. See, conference web site. Location: Washington Club, 15 Dupont Circle.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its June 21, 2004 workshop on the uses, efficiencies, and implications for consumers associated with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. See, FTC web page for this workshop, and notice in the Federal Register, April 15, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 73, at Pages 20523 - 20525.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding its April 19, 2004 workshop titled "Monitoring Software on Your PC: Spyware, Adware, and Other Software". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 1, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 63 at Pages 17155 - 17156.

The House and Senate will not meet on May 24 through May 31.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) titled "Freedom 2.0: Distributed Democracy". The topics to be addressed include the reliability of electronic voting systems, enabling public participation, government accountability, secrecy and surveillance, Freedom of Information Act, open government initiatives, privacy enhancing technologies, anonymity and identity, trans border data flows, radio frequency identification (RFID), biometrics, Civil Society, World Summit on the Information Society, United Nations Information and Communications Technology Task Force, ICANN, and UNESCO. See, conference web site. Location: Washington Club, 15 Dupont Circle.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, and possible steps to accelerate such deployment. The FCC is required by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to provide an annual report to the Congress on this subject. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 8, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 68, at Pages 18508 - 18515. This is GN Docket No. 04-54.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Emergency Alert System (EAS). See, notice in the Federal Register, April 9, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 69, at Pages 18857 - 18859.