US gov"t security agency names privacy committee

24.02.2005
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has appointed a 20-member Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee to advise the department"s secretary and chief privacy officer on privacy, data integrity and data interoperability issues.

"This committee will provide the department with important recommendations on how to further (its) mission while protecting the privacy of personally identifiable information of citizens and visitors of the United States," said Nuala O"Connor Kelly, chief privacy officer at the DHS, in a statement.

"The diversity of experience and perspectives represented by this committee will play an important role in advancing the national discourse on privacy and homeland security," she said.

Members of the committee come from the private, academic and nonprofit sectors. They were selected because of their expertise in privacy, security and emerging technology, DHS said.

The 20 members were chosen from among 129 applications received after a notice to establish the committee was published in the Federal Register last April.

Members will initially serve two staggered terms of two years, three years or four years. Members who join the group later, however, will serve four-year terms.

The first meeting of the group will be held April 6 in Washington, after which it will meet quarterly. Kelly will serve as the committee"s sponsor, and Rebecca Richards, director of privacy compliance for the DHS Privacy Office, will be its executive director.