Home → Archives → by date → 2003 → April → 18 →
"Homeland Security Dept. Fills Privacy Post: The former privacy officer of Internet advertising giant DoubleClick will be the Department of Homeland Security's first privacy czar, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced today. Nuala O'Connor Kelly, 34, will be responsible for vetting proposals or programs that involve collecting and using U.S. citizens' personal information. She currently serves as a Commerce Department attorney."
"If you read this story, you'll see a not-terrible assessment of the privacy official in question, who developed a reputation for at least listening to people's concerns when she worked at DoubleClick. But her former company was notorious for corporate tone-deafness on the topic. [...] Do you believe the Bush White House cares a whit for your privacy? Do you believe the agency charged wtih 'Homeland Security' (am I the only one who thinks the name is faintly Stalinist?) will hesitate to violate privacy on a routine basis? The answer is plainly 'no' in each case.
You could put the most ardent privacy advocate in charge of privacy in this government. It would make very little difference."