National Data Privacy Day–mark your calendars

Tomorrow, Jan 28th, has been designated National Privacy Day.   Is there a Hallmark Card yet to give to loved ones?   What is it?

H.Res. 31 – Expressing support for designation of January 28, 2009, as “National Data Privacy Day” (Price, D-NC)

Order of Business:  The resolution is scheduled to be considered on January 26, 2009 under a motion to suspend the rules and pass the resolution.

Summary:  H.Res. 31 would express the sense that the House of Representatives:

• “Supports the designation of a National Data Privacy Day;
• “Encourages State and local governments to observe the day with appropriate activities that promote awareness of data privacy;
• “Encourages privacy professionals and educators to discuss data privacy and protection issues with teens in high schools across the United States; and
• “Encourages individuals across the Nation to be aware of data privacy concerns and to take steps to protect their personal information online.”

The resolution lists a number of finding including:

• “The Internet and the capabilities of modern technology cause data privacy issues to figure prominently in the lives of many people in the United States at work, in their interaction with government and public authorities, in the health field, in e-commerce transactions, and online generally;
• “Many individuals are unaware of data protection and privacy laws generally and of specific steps that can be taken to help protect the privacy of personal information online;
• “National Data Privacy Day constitutes an international collaboration and a nationwide and statewide effort to raise awareness about data privacy and the protection of personal information on the Internet;
• “Government officials from the United States and Europe, privacy professionals, academics, legal scholars, representatives of international businesses, and others with an interest in data privacy issues are working together on this date to further the discussion about data privacy and protection;
• “Privacy professionals and educators are being encouraged to take the time to discuss data privacy and protection issues with teens in high schools across the country;
• “The recognition of “National Data Privacy Day” will encourage more people nationwide to be aware of data privacy concerns and to take steps to protect their personal information online; and
• “January 28, 2009, would be an appropriate day to designate as `National Data Privacy Day.”

Committee Action:  H.Res. 31 was introduced on January 7, 2009, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which took no official action.

Administration Position:  No Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) is available.

Cost to Taxpayers:  The resolution would not authorize any additional expenditures.

Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal Government?:  No.

Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or Private-Sector Mandates?:   No.

Does the Bill Comply with House Rules Regarding Earmarks/Limited Tax Benefits/Limited Tariff Benefits?:  Though the bill contains no earmarks, and there’s no accompanying committee report, the earmarks rule (House Rule XXI, Clause 9(a)) does not apply, by definition, to legislation considered under suspension of the rules.

RSC Staff Contact:  Brad Watson, brad.watson@mail.house.gov, (202) 226-9719

Link here.

Obama encouraging the FOIA process

President elect Obama is encouraging open government by encouraging FOIA (freedom of information act) requests.     It will be interesting to see how many and what kind of FOIA’s are requested early in his administration.

An excerpt from his memo today:     And link to the full memo here.

“A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, “sunlight is said
to be the best of disinfectants.” In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through
transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the
heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.”

State Department web site is already preparing for requests.   Link here.

Tracking Surveillance

ACLU has put up a new website to track the surveillance efforts of Government.   Here. It’s relatively weak now with some “worst case” examples of abuses sprinkled in but it might be worth watching.    You really have no implied right to privacy out in public so I doubt the trend will stop by sending letters.    But there is nothing to stop commercialization of counter-surveillance.    You can subscribe to traffic cam locations these days and populate the locations in your GPS–to avoid tickets.   I’m sure someone will sell the data showing all camera locations…and people will buy it.

Sometimes cameras are a good thing.  On occasion, when you’re all alone in a parking lot at night, it’s nice to see a security camera overhead.  The only questions are whether the camera actually works and whether anyone ever looks at it.

Plans to track your vehicle?

Oregon is concerned about their infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) and how to pay to keep them up to snuff.  Currently they get a good chunk of revenue from gasoline tax.  However, some of the citizenry has the nerve to purchase more fuel efficient cars.   This reduces their need to purchase gas, reducing the tax base.   If this trend continues,  then what?    So Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski proposes taxing people according to the mileage they drive.   A number of additional States are watching this as a possibility for their budget woes.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.

As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”

What that means is explained on the governor’s website:

“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”

According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.

The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
In order to pull this off they propose adding a GPS unit to each vehicle and then track the miles each vehicle is driven.  But privacy issues have been raised already.     Are they only interested in the mileage?

What about:

1. I want to drive across the country to New York.   Why should I pay mileage while outside Oregon?  Will I be able to turn off my unit?

2. In California I pay quite a hefty fee to ride the tollroads.   If I already am paying to ride a tollroad (does Oregon have alot of tolls?), then how do I turn off the unit while on the tollroad? Surely I can’t pay “twice” to ride the same road can I?

3. To auto circumvent 1 and 2 above, you’d have to imbed geo-fencing on mileage areas and track each vehicle accordingly.

4. And finally, how will Oregon charge visitors?   Will they?   Maybe not a visiting car but what about out of state trucks on the freeways?   I would argue they chew up the freeways over time more than other vehicles.