Privacy and Federal Privacy Law

As the temperatures rise in a typical Washington summer, so grows the pressure on some online advertising firms. 

Yesterday the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on the questionable methods for advertising currently being used by some Internet service providers (ISPs).  The hearing was entitled, “What Your Broadband Provider Knows About Your Web Use: Deep Packet Inspection and Communications Laws and Policies.”   Panelists included: Bob Dykes, the CEO for NebuAd, David Reed, an early Internet pioneer and professor at MIT, Alissa Cooper, the Chief Computer Scientist for the Center for Democracy and Technology, Scott Cleland, President of Precursor, LLC, and Bijan Sabet, a General Partner at Spark Capital. 

Released one day before the Senate Commerce Committee held its hearing on the privacy implications of online advertising, a new report says targeted ads may involve practices that violate state and federal wiretap laws.

On Tuesday, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) issued a memo, saying Internet service providers (ISPs) that allow an advertising network to copy [their] customers' Web traffic contents are defying "reasonable consumer expectations and may [be violating] communications privacy laws."

Currently, some ISPs are working with third party advertising agencies, which are copying consumer data in order to target specific ads at users. One such firm, NebuAD, testifed before the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. NebuAd claims it does not violate any laws because they do not collect personally identifiable information. Some, though, argue that any collection of data can ultimately be tied to an individual and disagree with NebuAd's assertion that privacy is completely protected. CDT's memo says the practice most likely violates legal protections provided in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

In this 55 minute podcast, we present a general session from the EDUCAUSE 2007 Policy Conference entitled, “Security Breaches and Identity Theft”. This is a panel discussion moderated by EDUCAUSE Government Relations Officer and Security Task Force Coordinator, Rodney Peterson. The discussion features: 

Michael Atleson, Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission

Liz Gasster, General Counsel and Acting Executive Director of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance

In response to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, President George W. Bush directed the secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education along with the Attorney General to meet with educators, mental health experts, law enforcement and state and local officials to discus the broader issues raised by this tragedy.  In their “Report to the President,” they conclude, “The Virginia Tech tragedy and similar violent events that have occurred in recent years . . . make us ask whether the complex balancing of fundamental interest in our communities – interests of protecting privacy and civil liberties, ensuring that our communities are safe, and helping people get the care they need – is appropriately calibrated.”  The report contained several recommendations relevant to emergency planning, preparedness, and notifications: