Wednesday, December 21, 2011
WilmerHale nabbed 2 of 5 seats on oversight board
President Barack Obama has finally brought the Civil Liberties and Privacy Oversight Board, an independent advisory group created at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, back to life with the nomination of three new members.
Dormant since 2007 due to a lack of participants, the board is tasked with overseeing privacy-related concerns involving such activities as airport screening, Internet use and law enforcement use of tracking devices.
Current members Jim Dempsey, of the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Elisebeth Collins Cook, a former Justice Department lawyer now at the WilmerHale law firm, will be joined by David Medine, a WilmerHale partner; Rachel Brand, a lawyer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Patricia Wald, a former federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for DC.
In theory, the board has the power to issue subpoenas, but at this point it doesn’t even have a website or logo.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Obama Administration Finally Gives Teeth To Federal Privacy Watchdog (by Kashmir Hill, Forbes)
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: New Independent Agency Status (by Garrett Hatch, Congressional Research Service) (pdf)
White House Privacy Oversight Board Disappears (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
The Nine 9/11 Commission Recommendations Still Unmet (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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