jdempsey@cdt.org
Jim Dempsey, Vice President for Public Policy, has been with CDT since 1997. He served as Executive Director from 2003 to 2005; in 2005, he moved to San Francisco and launched CDT West. Mr. Dempsey concentrates on privacy, government surveillance, and national security issues. He coordinates the Digital Privacy and Security Working Group, a forum of over 50 computer and communications companies, trade associations and public interest organizations.
Jim Dempsey testifies frequently before Congress and is widely quoted in the media. The Washington Post Sunday magazine (Oct. 2002) described Dempsey as “a reasoned and respected civil liberties advocate routinely summoned to the Hill by both political parties to advise lawmakers about technology and privacy issues.”
Prior to joining CDT, Mr. Dempsey was Deputy Director of the non-profit Center for National Security Studies and special counsel to the National Security Archive, a non-governmental organization that uses the Freedom of Information Act to gain the declassification of documents on the U.S. foreign policy.
From 1985 to 1995, Mr. Dempsey was assistant counsel to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. His primary areas of responsibility for the Subcommittee were oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, privacy and civil liberties. He worked on issues at the intersection of national security and constitutional rights, including terrorism, counterintelligence, and electronic surveillance as well as crime issues, including the federal death penalty, remedies for racial bias in death sentencing, information privacy, and police brutality.
Internationally, Mr. Dempsey has consulted with government officials and human rights organizations on Internet policy and civil liberties issues. He previously headed CDT's international project, the Global Internet Policy Initiative (GIPI).
From 1980 to 1984, Mr. Dempsey was an associate with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Arnold & Porter. He clerked for the Hon. Robert Braucher of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1979 - 1980). He is a graduate of Yale College (BA 1975) and Harvard Law School (JD 1979). He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia.
Mr. Dempsey is author of articles in law reviews and other journals on privacy and Internet policy, including “Commercial Data and National Security,” 72 G. W. L. Rev. 1459 (2004), “Civil Liberties in a Time of Crisis,” Human Rights magazine (2002), and “Communications Privacy in the Digital Age,” 8 Albany L.J Sci. & Tech 65 (1997). He is co-author of the book Terrorism & the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security (New Press, Third edition, 2006) (with Prof. David Cole of Georgetown).
Mr. Dempsey has been a member of the Markle Foundation Task Force on National Security in the Information Age (2004 - 2006); the Industry Advisory Board for the National Counter-Terrorism Center (2005 – 2006); and the Transportation Security Administration’s Secure Flight Working Group (2005).
Publications and Testimony
2008
2007
- James X. Dempsey, The Internet at Risk: The Need for Higher Education Advocacy, EDUCAUSE Review, Vol. 42, No. 6, November/December 2007
- Testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on FISA and the Protect America Act, September 18, 2007
- Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on FISA and the Protect America Act September 25, 2007
- Speech to the EDUCAUSE Policy Conference on Why Higher Education Advocacy Matters on IT Policy [podcast] May 17, 2007
- Testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on National Security Letters, March 28, 2007
2006
- Testimony before the President's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on Privacy and Information Sharing for Counterterrorism, December 5, 2006
- Testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on Updating FISA, September 6, 2006
- Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Modernization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, July 26, 2006
- Testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Modernization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), July 19, 2006
- James X. Dempsey and Ira Rubinstein, Lawyers and Technologists: Joined at the Hip?, Guest Editors' Introduction to IEEE Security and Privacy Magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 3 (May/June 2006)
- Jim Dempsey, Got Data? Beware Privacy Pitfalls, Big Brother, A Q & A with CDT's Policy Director, Intelligence Enterprise Magazine, January 30, 2006
- James X. Dempsey and David Cole, Terrorism and the Constitution (New Press, Third Edition, 2006)
2005
- Testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity on Improving Pre-Screening of Aviation Passengers against Terrorist and Other Watch Lists, June 29, 2005
- Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on USA PATRIOT Act, May 24, 2005
- Testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on the PATRIOT Act, May 11, 2005
- Testimony before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the PATRIOT Act, May 10, 2005
- Testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on Oversight Hearing on Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act: Section 212, May 5, 2005
- Testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act: Sections of the Act that Address Crime, Terrorism, and the Age of Technology, April 21, 2005
- Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on USA PATRIOT Act, April 19, 2005
- Testimony before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Securing Electronic Personal Data: Striking a Balance Between Privacy and Commercial and Governmental Use, April 13, 2005
2004
- The Patriot Act, Civil Liberties and the War on Terrorism: Have the PATRIOT Act and other counter-terrorism measures gone too far? Examining the US fight against terrorism and its impact on privacy, free speech and other civil liberties, at LocationOne, in New York City [Video - Quicktime], October 6, 2004
- Testimony before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Law Enforcement Access to Communications Systems in a Digital Age, September 8, 2004
- James X. Dempsey and Lara M. Flint, Commercial Data and National Security, The George Washington Law Review, Vol 72, Number 6 (August 2004)
- Testimony before the House Committee on Government Reform on Moving from 'Need to Know' to 'Need to Share:' A Review of the 9-11 Commission's Recommendations, August 3, 2004
- Testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on S. 2281, The VOIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004., June 16, 2004
- Testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law on Privacy in the Hands of the Government: The Privacy Officer for the Department of Homeland Security., February 10, 2004
2003
- James X. Dempsey, What E-Government Means for Those of Us Who Cannot Type, Local Government Brief, Winter 2003, p. 22
- Testimony before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on America after 9/11: Freedom Preserved or Freedom Lost?, November 18, 2003
- Testimony of Jim Dempsey before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law and the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Judiciary Committee on The Defense of Privacy Act and Privacy in the Hands of the Government, July 22, 2003
- Testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution on Anti-Terrorism Investigations and the Fourth Amendment After September 11: Where and When Can the Government Go to Prevent Terrorist Attacks?, May 20, 2003
2002
- James X. Dempsey, "Civil Liberties in a Time of Crisis," Journal of the National Council of Jewish Women, Winter 2001/2002
- James X. Dempsey, "Civil Liberties in a Time of Crisis," Human Rights, Winter 2002
- Testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations and the Subcommittee for Technology and Procurement Policy of the House Committee on Government Reform on H.R. 3844, the 'Federal Information Security Reform Act of 2002', May 2, 2002
- Testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary Forum on National Security and the Constitution on the nation's counter-terrorism programs and their implications for civil liberties, January 24, 2002
2001
2000
- Testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution on privacy legislation, September 6, 2000
- Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Carnivore, September 6, 2000
- Michael J. O'Neil and James X. Dempsey, 2000 DePaul Business Law Journal: Critical Infrastructure Protection: Threats To Privacy And Other Civil Liberties And Concerns With Government Mandates On Industry
- Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Internet security and privacy, May 25, 2000
- Testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution on The Fourth Amendment and the Internet, April 6, 2000
- Deirdre Mulligan and James X. Dempsey, "Applying Campaign Finance Law to the Internet - Risks to Free Expression and Democratic Values," CFP, April 2000
- James X. Dempsey, "Overview of Criminal Justice Information Systems," CFP, April 2000
- Testimony before the Subcommittee on Crime of the House Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Internet Denial of Service Attacks and the Federal Response, February 29, 2000
Pre-2000
