Press Release
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Press Contact:
Irene Oujo (201) 996-1154  

For Immediate Release

DESPITE ANTI-TERROR FOCUS CONSUMER PRIVACY ISSUES
MAJOR CONCERN FOR LAWMAKERS IN 2003

Hackensack, NJ//November 25, 2002 After pausing to face post 9/11 security concerns, state legislators across the nation will be turning to consumer privacy issues in their 2003 sessions. The 108^th Congress is also focusing on a number of privacy bills that may come up for action in the 2003-2004 session, according to the latest issue of Privacy & American Business Electronic Newsletter.

"Many state and federal lawmakers are convinced of a trend that a P&AB national survey documented earlier this year," said Dr. Alan Westin, President & Publisher, P&AB. "Despite large public majorities supporting new anti-terror powers for homeland security, equally large majorities say they remained either as concerned as before about protecting their consumer privacy or even more concerned now. This will make consumer privacy measures an active item in state houses and in Congress next year."

As part of its regular coverage of state privacy activity, the November 2002 P&AB issue will feature highlights of privacy activity in the states. The article reports what the states enacted on such consumer privacy issues as financial services, Internet privacy, marketing, employment, health and insurance, and forecasts the measures that will be debated in 2003.

Congressional Privacy Activity

Also featured this month in P&ABs Washington Report by Robert Belair, P&AB Vice President and Partner at Oldaker, Biden & Belair, are those factors most likely to impact Congressional action on privacy issues in the coming months. Whether the Bush Administration will develop a consumer privacy agenda, as the President promised in the 2000 presidential campaign, will play a central role.

Among upcoming privacy issues likely to be taken up in the new Congress will be Social Security Number protection, identity theft, online privacy, enhanced drivers license laws and biometrics. After a first session heavily devoted to homeland security issues, the Republican-controlled House and Senate will face pressure to be productive at this coming session. Some consumer privacy measures will be politically attractive.

Workshop & Briefing to Explore State and Federal Privacy Activity

Attendees at P&ABs upcoming Privacy Leadership Group (PLG) Briefing & Workshop will explore the recent movement to get privacy protection measures on state ballots, and which bills Congressional lawmakers are most likely to push for enactment. The event will be held at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. December 5-6.

Attendees will participate in privacy roundtable discussions on state and federal privacy activity led by Dr. Westin, one of the nations leading experts on information privacy and Ron Plesser, one of the nations top privacy lawyers and partner in Piper Rudnick, LLP.

Workshop attendees will also receive the Consumer Privacy Litigation Report, a cumulative analysis of lawsuits since 2000; and a round up of consumer privacy surveys that discuss which are trustworthy, what the important trends are, and how they affect U.S. business. A major new survey on the latest privacy segmentation of the U.S. public post-November elections will also be released at the Workshop & Briefing.

For more information about this months issue of Privacy & American Business, contact Irene Oujo at ioujo@pandab.org or (201) 996-1154.

Agenda and registration information for P&ABs PLG Washington Briefing & Workshop is available on the web at pandab.org. Or, contact Olga Garey at (201) 996-1154 or info@pandab.org

About Privacy & American Business

Privacy & American Business, (pandab.org & www.PrivacyExchange.org), is an activity of the non-profit Center for Social & Legal Research, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy think tank exploring U.S. and global issues of consumer and employee privacy and data protection since its launch in 1993.

Always on the cutting edge, P&AB was the first to chart and analyze for business the rise of privacy from a second-tier concern to a front-burner issue and to provide opportunities in programs and meetings to assist businesses in understanding the privacy environment as it is evolving. P&AB, a pioneer in recognizing the rise of the corporate privacy officer (CPO), was the first to open its CPO Program in 1999.

The Center and all its activities are led by Dr. Alan Westin, President and Publisher of P&AB; Robert Belair, Partner at Oldaker, Biden & Belair and P&ABs Vice President; and Lorrie Sherwood, P&ABs Executive Director.

About P&ABs Privacy Leadership Group

The Privacy Leadership Group (PLG) is a new multi-industry program for privacy officers delivering an ongoing flow of resources, hands-on assistance and networking opportunities throughout the year to support privacy officers and those involved in privacy management. PLG is led by P&AB whose Corporate Privacy Officers Program from 1999 through 2001 provided the first integrated support programs for privacy officers in the U.S. and abroad.

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