The American Constitution Society is having an event about Justice Louis Brandeis and the right to privacy. From the Web site:

Louis Brandeis and the Development of the Right to Privacy

Nearly 120 years ago, modern privacy law took root with the publication of Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis’s seminal article, The Right to Privacy. At the time, more than 25 years before Brandeis took his seat on the Supreme Court, he was focused on the invasions of privacy that resulted from increasing use the new technology of “snapshot photography” by the press without the consent of the people being photographed. But Brandeis also knew that there was more to the “right to be let alone” and he would later take steps, particularly as a member of the Supreme Court, to nurture this critical area of the common law, which now touches our lives in important ways through the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the law of tort, the law governing fundamental decisions, and state constitutional law. Read more »

The American Constitution Society will have a panel discussion on privacy questions. From the site:

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy invites you to attend:

Living Online: Privacy and Security Issues in a Digital Age

Our lives are increasingly lived online. A large number of Americans routinely exchange information in cyberspace for personal, business, and other purposes. What privacy and security issues present themselves in this relatively new and increasingly ubiquitous space? What particular privacy concerns might apply when specific entities, such as the government, hold or process our information? What particular considerations might apply when the information being transmitted is particularly sensitive, such as health care information or financial information? How do privacy, security, and information ownership concerns function when information is being exchanged on social networking sites? Read more »

The Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting in Detroit, Michigan, on September 10. The subject will be: DHS Outreach and Engagement Efforts with Ethnic and Religious Communities in Metropolitan Detroit. Here’s information from the Federal Register notice.

SUMMARY: The DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will meet on September 10, 2009, in Detroit, Michigan. The meeting will be open to the public.

DATES: The DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, September 10, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please note that the meeting may end early if the Committee has completed its business.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Marriott Detroit at The Renaissance Center, Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan 48243. 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 September 1, 2009. 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-2009-0103) and may be submitted by any one of the following methods: Read more »

Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing, “Identification Security: Reevaluating the REAL ID Act.”

The hearing will likely touch on the PASS ID Act, a new bill to revise the controversial REAL ID national identification system. (The REAL ID Act of 2005 mandates that state driver’s licenses and ID cards follow federal technical standards and verification procedures issued by the Department of Homeland Security.)

From the Web site:

Witnesses:

Panel 1 Read more »

From the site: 

PrivacyCampDC09 is an unconference (what’s this?)  about Privacy and Government Issues using about Privacy with a particular focus on electronic privacy and Government Policy. The goal is to connect researchers, developers, practitioners, citizens and other enthusiasts for a day of intense collaboration and knowledge sharing.

To give you a better idea of what PrivacyCampDC is all about, here’s a list of topics that may be addressed (in no particular order). A lot of these terms overlap and there often isn’t a clear-cut boundary with neighboring themes. Please add which angle you’re coming from: 

• Government protection of consumer privacy
• Internet privacy regulations
• Deep Packet Inspection
• Obama Administration and Privacy
• Health Care Reform and Privacy
• Voter Privacy
• Government collection of citizen data
• Data breach law

RSVP on Eventbrite:http://privacycampdc09.eventbrite.com/

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 8 a.m.
Location: Center For American Progress Action Fund; 1333 H Street, NW; Washington, DC
For more information: http://privacycampdc09.com

The posting will be light this week, since I’ll be at Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2009 through Thursday. 

Computers, Freedom and Privacy is an annual conference to discuss the privacy, security and civil liberty questions raised by emerging technologies or new uses of old technologies. This year’s theme is “Creating the Future.” Check out the interesting panels on the program, including two panels that I am moderating, on airport behavior detection programs and a global information privacy regime.