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On Wednesday, we wrote on our blog that Congress could help ensure that privacy issues are given the utmost priority by confirming Cass Sunstein as the new administrator for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. OIRA is the office at OMB that helps oversee government agency privacy issues. As luck would have it, we […]

A number of the most fervent privacy groups today put out a report critiquing the Obama administration’s record to date on privacy issues. At only 9 months in, it seems a bit too soon to rate the Administration. As we have written previously, we do think there have been early indications of a commitment to […]

So turns out that we don’t yet have a draft cookie policy to react to, but today we have a more formal request for comment that lays out the framework OMB is looking at and guidance on the more specific input OMB is seeking.   See  Open Government Blog. Here are the details: Under the framework […]

Feds announce that Clear Pass data aint their problem. Stay on this one, Marc Rotenberg! Fate of Registered Traveler data up in air after vendor quits program — Federal Computer Week. One more reason the US needs a Chief Privacy Officer is that there is so much that falls within the cracks of jurisdiction.  Data […]

One analytics company, Webtrends,  speaks up about how the federal government can use cookies.  In a blog post and in a comment at the White House Open Government, site they make some sensible points about transparency and the use of first party domains.  The ideas echo some of the proposals we and CDT have previously […]

The White House Open Government site will be hosting discussion of a few issues on Friday, including suggestions by FPF, CDT, EFF and Professor Peter Swire about updating the current government policy around the use of cookies. The topic listed is as follows: Update the cookies policy to come up to speed with the latest […]

Our friend Saul Hansell at the New York Times has a piece today entitled “The Obama Administration’s Silence on Privacy, ” which references a speech given yesterday at the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference.  The speech was made by Susan Crawford, a science and technology advisor to President Obama.  While we are often in synch […]

It is very heartening to see the important new office of the Cyber Security Coordinator include a dedicated privacy official.

1. Appoint a Chief Privacy Officer to Promote Fair Information Practices in the Public and Private Sectors. We embrace the idea of government catching up to industry by creating the central role of a Chief Technology Officer, as has been announced. But we also point out the need — recognized by hundreds of privacy-sensitive companies […]

1. Appoint a Chief Privacy Officer to Promote Fair Information Practices in the Public and Private Sectors.
We embrace the idea of government catching up to industry by creating the central role of a Chief Technology Officer, as has been announced. But we also point out the need — recognized by hundreds of privacy-sensitive companies — for a senior level Chief Privacy Officer, someone to ensure that data protection is a central consideration for technology, data and policy decisions. Although many federal agencies have privacy officers, the fact that data is increasingly available across government entities demonstrates the need for a central figure to lead U.S. efforts to respect citizen data. To ensure that the data needed to combat terror will be available while appropriate oversight is in place to protect essential freedoms, the Administration should have an accountable, executive-level figure to drive an agenda based on responsible data practices.