FC: FTC commish, Gephardt oppose new privacy laws; Echelon update

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[A few months ago, around the time that Sen. Wyden was busy claiming that 
privacy legislation this year was inevitable, we ran a piece that went 
against conventional wisdom: 
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,42123,00.html EPIC's Marc 
Rotenberg told me when I interviewed him for the article that "the 
likelihood of privacy legislation in this Congress is high." No longer. 
Even with a Democratic Senate and Sen. Hollings as committee chair, the 
political winds are shifting away from new rules and regulations aimed at 
corporations. Maybe next year. -Declan]

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http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO61130,00.html
FTC member says privacy concerns becoming 'hysteria'
2001-06-06 04:48:04

On the business-to-consumer front, [FTC Commissioner Thomas] Leary said he 
doesn't expect the FTC to impose any new privacy regulations, at least for 
now. "In my view, there's a new hysteria on this question of privacy." [...]

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http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166960.html
Gephardt Waxes GOP-Like On Privacy, Military Spending
2001-06-18 15:35:04

"It may be that sometime out in the future we all agree that the law needs 
to be advanced or changed, but right now, we believe this is best left to 
your own devices to try to figure out." Gephardt's position marks a 
distinct shift in his personal stance on privacy legislation over the past 
year. [...]

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=195156
Gephardt: Companies sensitive on privacy
2001-06-18 19:14:09

Gephardt: "Responsible companies know intuitively that it's in their deep 
self-interest to protect the privacy of the consumer, so I believe they 
have all the incentives they need in order to get this done." [...]

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/0106/18/text/world11.html
US wins Spain's favour with offer to share spy network material

The United States has agreed to share highly classified material from the 
Anglo-American Echelon intelligence network with the Spanish Government to 
help Madrid's battle against the Basque separatist group ETA. The move is 
seen as an attempt to smooth relations with Europe at a time of increasing 
tensions. [...] The deal was alluded to by Mr Josep Piqué, Spain's Foreign 
Minister, who confirmed in general terms that the US had agreed to spy on 
ETA. "It opens up a very promising field of action, so that we can 
definitely defeat terrorism. [...]

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=194966
UPI hears ...

How did President George Bush secure the unexpected support of the Spanish 
government for his missile defense plans, and even Spanish premier Jose 
Maria Aznar's "understanding" of Bush's uncompromising opposition to the 
Kyoto agreement on global warming? It seems that the Spaniards, in their 
struggle against the ETA Basque terrorist group, are most grateful for 
assistance from U.S. intelligence. [...]

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