House DHS Subcommittee Hearing on Fusion Centers
The House Committee on Department of Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a hearing September 27, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., 311 Cannon House Office Building on the topic of “The Way Forward With Fusion Centers: Challenges and Strategies for Change.”
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Homeland Security Releases Final REAL ID Rules
The Department of Homeland Security released the long awaited final rule on state issued drivers licenses and identification documents. The rule indicated that the new federal REAL ID will be used for a variety of purposes unrelated to the law that resulted in the federalization of state issued drivers licenses. If states do not comply with the agency rule the drivers’ licenses held by state residents will not be accepted for air travel or to access federal government buildings. As a cost saving measure the Department of Homeland Security decided not to require encryption of the digital data stored on the REAL ID. The Privacy Coalition led a major anti-REAL ID public education campaign. EPIC's page on REAL ID and the ACLU's analysis of the new agency rule..
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Congress Gives Administration More Wiretap Power
Congress gives the White House expanded domestic spying and reduce judicial oversight, through amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The new authority given to the President by Congress will permit warrantless surveillance of American citizens when one party to the conversation may be outside of the United States. This change in the FISA law which already gave law enforcement and national intelligence agenies great latitude under a special court which exclusively heard these request for surveillance of non-citizens. This change in the FISA law will leave millions of Americans subject to electronic surveillance, without court review, regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing. However, the amendments will sunset in 180 days, which will provide an opportunity for further debate in Congress.
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2007 Annual Meeting: Privacy Agenda 08
January 24-26, 2008 marked the 14th Annual Meeting of the Privacy Coalition. The meeting took place in Washington, DC and featured participation by privacy, consumer rights, civil liberties, and civil rights organizations.
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UPDATE: More Than 50 Groups Join Anti-National ID Campaign
A number of groups, including the Coalition Against Prosecutorial Abuse and Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, have joined a campaign against REAL ID. Fifty-four groups are urging the public to submit comments against the illegal national identification system created by the Department of Homeland Security under the REAL ID program. DHS seeks to create a massive system filled with sensitive personal data on 240 million license and ID cardholders nationwide, yet has failed to include adequate privacy and security safeguards.
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September 28 Privacy Coalition Meeting
The September 28, 2007 meeting of the Privacy Coalition featured presentations by David Gersten Director of the Department of Homeland Security's Civil Rights and Civil Libertieis Programs, Robert Mocny, Director of the Department of Homeland Security's US VISIT Program. The meeting also featured presentations by Susan Hunkler a privacy rights activist, Jim Harrision Director of the Identity Project, Lew Motby President, Work Rights Institute and a discussion on Fusion Centers.
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