Tuesday marks the beginning of this year’s Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. The conference has numerous interesting events. (Disclosure: I was on the planning committee this year and in years past.) I will be at CFP for the next few days, so posting will be light on this site.

Here are a few CFP panels that raise important questions:

A Clash of Civilizations: The EU and US Negotiate the Future of Privacy
Tuesday, June 14, 2011; 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Europe and the US have very different ideas on what laws and institutions are needed to protect privacy. High level negotiations between the EU and US will set the international standards for the use of personal data by governments and the private sector. Government officials and experts from both sides of the Atlantic will explore those differences and discuss what is at stake for Americans and the world. Read more »

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), chairman of the subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law of the Senate Judiciary Committee has questioned Apple in writing about the recent controversy concerning researchers’ revelations about the tracking and storage of users’ location data on Apple iPhones and 3G-enabled iPad tablets. Now, he has scheduled a hearing on mobile privacy issues: “Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy.” No witnesses have been announced.

Date: Tuesday, May 10 at 10 a.m. ET
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226; Washington, D.C. (Webcast here.)
For more information: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings

Technology-Academics-Policy will host a Twitter chat about privacy on Wednesday. From the Web site:

Privacy has been generating a lot of buzz recently. Last month, “Do Not Track” legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, spurring even more debate in the online privacy discussion. [...]

Our lineup of participants, who will ask and answer questions during the hour-long TAPtalk, includes the following privacy experts:

• Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow at Mercatus Center: @AdamThierer
• Chris Hoofnagle, Director, Information Privacy Programs at UC Berkeley: @ hoofnagle
• Ashkan Soltani, Independent Researcher and Consultant: @ashk4n
• Jules Polonetsky, Co-Chair and Director at The Future of Privacy Forum: @JulesPolonetsky
• Randy Picker, Professor at University of Chicago Law School: @randypicker
• Justin Brookman, Center for Democracy & Technology: @JustinBrookman
• Anurag Pandit, Product Manager, Internet Explorer
• Shaun Dakin, Privacy Camp: @ShaunDakin

Read more »

The Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Wednesday March 9, 2011. Here are details from the Federal Register Notice:

Written materials, requests to make oral presentations, and requests to have a copy of your materials distributed to each member of the Committee prior to the meeting should be sent to Martha K. Landesberg, Executive Director, DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, by March 1, 2011. Persons who wish to submit comments and who are not able to attend or speak at the meeting may submit comments at any time. All submissions must include the Docket Number (DHS-2011-0001) and may be submitted by any one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Read more »

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will deliver the first annual “State of America’s Homeland Security” address at George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute on January 27. From the Web site:

Secretary Napolitano will inaugurate an annual address on the state of security in our homeland and begin a series of discussions at colleges and universities that will continue throughout the coming year.

Introduction By: Steven Knapp, President, The George Washington University
Steven Knapp became the sixteenth president of The George Washington University in August 2007. His priorities include enhancing the university’s partnerships with neighboring institutions, expanding the scope of its research, strengthening its worldwide community of alumni, enlarging its students’ opportunities for public service, and leading its transformation into a model of urban sustainability. Read more »

The University of Washington School of Law will hold a conference on October 29, 2010: Mobile Payments: Global Markets, Empowered Consumers and New Rules?

More than two-thirds of the world’s population has a mobile phone, creating opportunities for new payment platforms in both developed and developing nations. In the former, where the market for mobile telephony is mature, mobile payments are seen as a potential source of revenue by mobile operators, who are trying to diversify their services. In the latter, mobile payments could transition the unbanked into mainstream financial services, and could create new opportunities for commerce as mobile devices can make transactions more efficient and provide merchants and consumers with new access to information.

This one-day conference will explore the benefits of mobile payments in to consumers – both in developed and developing markets and the types of regulatory approaches that will increase consumer adoption and provide incentives for businesses to compete in this emerging space. Read more »