Posted on 02/23/2005 11:22:03 PM PST by FactsMatter
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced the appointment of twenty members to the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee (DHS Privacy Advisory Committee). This newest federal advisory committee to DHS was established to provide external expert advice to the Secretary and the Chief Privacy Officer on programmatic, policy, operational, and technological issues that affect privacy, data integrity, and data interoperability in DHS programs.
“This Committee will provide the Department with important recommendations on how to further the Department’s mission while protecting the privacy of personally identifiable information of citizens and visitors of the United States,” said Nuala O’Connor Kelly, the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security. “The diversity of experience and perspectives represented by this Committee will play an important role in advancing the national discourse on privacy and homeland security.”
The members of this Advisory Committee have diverse expertise in privacy, security, and emerging technology, and come from large and small companies, the academic community, and the non-profit sector. The members also reflect a depth of knowledge on issues of data protection, openness, technology, and national security. Members for the first term will serve staggered terms of two years, three years, or four years and all subsequent members will serve for a period of four years.
The notice to establish the Committee and request for applicants was published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2003. More than 129 applications were received. The applications were reviewed by the Privacy Office, and former Secretary Ridge accepted the recommendations of the Chief Privacy Officer. Future notices to serve on the Committee will be issued in advance of the expiration of terms to stabilize membership levels and to ensure continuing diversity of the privacy perspectives of the members.
(Excerpt) Read more at dhs.gov ...
That's the company formerly known as Gator, infamous for its software, a.k.a. GAIN, which stands for Gator Advertising Information Network. It's sadly familiar to many frustrated Web surfers, who have been surprised to discover it mysteriously installed on their desktops serving them extra helpings of ads.
The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Dow Jones Company sued Gator back in 2002 for the way its ads appeared as parasites on their sites. But even though the original Gator software can be considered one of the original plague carriers of the spyware blight -- be careful about calling it that. The company has repeatedly threatened its critics with libel lawsuits for dubbing it "spyware."
The fact that a "privacy officer" for a company that made its name sneaking onto computers all over the word is now helping to determine what should be done with data collected by the Department of Homeland Security might be alarming to some people. But is it really all that shocking? The D.H.S.'s own chief privacy officer is no stranger to the ins and outs of interactive marketing either. She used to work for the online marketing firm, DoubleClick. The above is from Salon.com but the original press release is at the above link.
CPOOPPOTITIDI
Oh. My. Whoever came up with this incredibly stupid idea should be tossed into the Potomac. The CPO of the most pervasive spyware company on the planet has no business sitting on any federal Data Privacy committee.
My computer ran a lot faster after the spyware remover got rid
of Gator and some others.
Press passes for sleazoid porn peddlers, privacy posts for spyware purveyors -- what next? Osama bin Laden appointed Director of Homeland Security??
"CPOOP" (pronounced "see poop") for short. And that's what I see, all over this fiasco. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse!
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