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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Schwartz
202-637-9800
ari@cdt.org
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - The Center for Democracy and Technology today announced support for the "Citizens' Protection in Federal Databases Act of 2003," a bill that would require federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to disclose the extent to which they subscribe to commercial databases of personal information. Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the bill would bar funds for any procurement of records of the travel and purchasing habits of Americans until the agencies had publicly reported to Congress about their use and analysis of the information and any privacy protection standards they follow.
"We need to know what TIA, CIA, TSA, TTIC and all the other agencies multiplying in the terrorism field are doing. Serious privacy concerns arise when law enforcement and intelligence agencies rely on information that was originally collected for commercial purposes, but no one even knows what data the government is buying from the commercial warehouses, the marketers and credit agencies," CDT President Jerry Berman said. "This bill is the first step toward figuring out whether new laws are needed to protect citizens' privacy in this new environment."
The legislation would require reports from the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Treasury. The reports would have to disclose agency contracts to obtain commercial data, how the agencies analyze the data -- including anything showing whether those techniques are likely to be effective -- and any privacy and due process guidelines followed by the agencies.
The bill also prohibits all federal agencies from conducting searches of commercial data based on purely hypothetical scenarios of future terrorist attacks.
"Some government officials have suggested that terrorists could be found by dreaming up scenarios and trolling vast databases looking for suspicious conduct. The bill says that is just too risky and too speculative. There should be some particular suspicion, some basis in fact, before agencies search these commercial databases," Berman said.
The Center for Democracy and Technology, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to developing public policy solutions that advance civil liberties and democratic values in the new computer and communications media.
For more information:
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The Center For Democracy & Technology |