Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wyden Stays In Front Of Tech-Related Issues

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 16:27:31 -0400

Wyden Stays In Front Of Tech-Related Issues

Aug 11, 2003

Describing Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as one of the Senate's most tech-savvy members
may be something of an understatement. Wyden has been one of the most active
members of Congress on issues related to computing and the Internet. He was a key
player in drafting and pushing legislation aimed at keeping e-commerce on the 'Net
exempt from discriminatory taxation. He was also instrumental in promoting the use
of so-called digital signatures.

The Oregon Democrat has been selected by the American Electronics Association for
the AEA Legislator Hall of Fame, and in 2000 was named Legislator of the Year by
the Information Technology Council.

So why aren't Wyden's political donations from telecom and information technology
related entities soaring through the roof? Well, one well-known Capitol Hill
lobbyist summed it up this way: "Ron Wyden is one of the few lawmakers in Congress
who hasn't always got his hand out."

Wyden holds the Senate seat once held by his mentor, the late Sen. Wayne Morse
(D-Ore.). He serves on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the
Select Intelligence Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Special
Committee on Aging. In addition, he serves on the Forest and Public Land
Management and Science, Technology and Space subcommittees.

Before his election to the Senate in 1996, he served 15 years in the House, where
he worked to help pass the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Over the years, Wyden has been a strong advocate for personal privacy. In fact,
earlier this year he raised serious questions about the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency's (DARPA) handling of privacy and civil liberties issues
associated with its proposed Terrorism Information Awareness (TIA) program. He was
largely responsible for getting Congress to pass legislation requiring a
comprehensive report on TIA.
In June, he sent a letter to DARPA Director Anthony Tether stating that the report
the agency filed in May to address privacy issues raises questions about proposed
uses of TIA.

The TIA system would access databases run by airlines, financial and educational
institutions, and other groups, in an effort to pinpoint patterns that might lead
to terrorist activity.

"Your report states that 'the TIA program is not attempting to create or access a
centralized database that will store information gathered from various publicly or
privately held databases,'" Wyden wrote in his letter. "Nonetheless, it is clear
that the TIA program will access any number of such databases and then sort
through the information. Accordingly, I remain very deeply concerned that TIA
technology will be used to plow through large amounts of private information on
individual Americans in search of hypothetical threat situations."

Earlier this summer, the Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee (TAPAC), an
external oversight board established by the Pentagon last February, held its first
public meeting. TAPAC was established to ensure that TIA moves forward with proper
regard for constitutional rights and statutory laws, as well as in accordance with
existing privacy protection laws. An internal DOD committee has the same mission.
Virtually all of these safeguard measures were results of Wyden's intervention.
Telco PAC Donations To Sen. Wyden
Telephone Utilities
$5,500
AT&T
$2,500
SBC Communications
$1,000
Sprint Corp
$1,000
Verizon Communications
$1,000
Source: FEC; Note: All figures are based on data released by the FEC on July 28,
2003.

Computer Equipment & Services PAC Donations To Sen. Wyden
Computer Equipment & Services
$2,000
eBay Inc
$1,000
Microsoft Corp
$1,00 0
Source: FEC; Note: All figures are based on data released by the FEC on July 28,
2003.

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