Press Release: Congressional Webmasters Gear Up for P3P Implementation
August 6, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Joshua Freed
202.638.4370
jfreed@neted.org
Congressional Webmasters Gear Up for P3P Implementation
Adoption of New Internet Privacy Tool Takes Step Forward; Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee Holds P3P Workshop P3P, Privacy and Your Congressional Web Site
Washington, D.C. August 6, 2001 - The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee today hosted a panel for Congressional Webmasters on how to implement the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) compliant privacy policies on their Congressional Web sites. Joshua Freed, the new Director of Privacy Technology and P3P Outreach for the Internet Education Foundation, moderated the panel that included Kathy Goldschmit from the Congressional Management Foundation, Ari Schwartz from the Center for Democracy Technology, Matt Payne-Funk from Senator Patrick Leahy's office, Jason Wasfy from Senator Conrad Burns' office, Lorrie Cranor from AT&T Laboratories, Marc Berejka from Microsoft, Frank Swerda from IBM Governmental Programs, and Shane Ham from the Progressive Policy Institute.
P3P, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is a Web-wide protocol designed to provide an automated way for users to gain more control over the use of personal information gathered by the Web sites they visit. P3P accomplishes this by using XML, a computer language that enables privacy policies to be "read" by users' Web browsers. Each user can then tell the browser what it expects out of a privacy policy, enabling the browser to then make decisions for the user accordingly. Web browsers are implementing P3P in a variety of ways, with some browsers allowing individuals to make their own decisions about accepting cookies, some warning users that a page is using information in a way that they might not like, and others potentially blocking certain pages all together. For more information, visit the World Wide Web Consortium's official P3P FAQ at http://www.w3org/P3P/p3pfaq.html.
P3P implementation enjoys enormous bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. Jason Wasfy, of Senator Conrad Burns' (R-MT) office said, "As congressional officers we have a unique duty to protect privacy on the Web as well as the duty to practice what we preach." Also, Matt Payne-Funk, of Senator Patrick Leahy's (D-VT) office remarked that P3P is not only important to implement but also relatively easy to implement. Senator Leahy's Congressional Web site was the first Web site on the Hill to be P3P compliant. At the moment, over a dozen Congressional Web sites have implemented P3P on their Web sites with many more expected after the workshop today. Industry adoption of the protocol, spurred by Congressional leadership on the issue, is expected to rise dramatically in the coming months.
About the Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee to the Internet Caucus is a diverse group of public interest, non-profit and industry groups working to educate the Congress and the public about important Internet-related policy issues. With participation from Members of the Caucus and logistical support from the Internet Education Foundation, the Advisory Committee hosts regular forums to discuss important Internet-related policy issues. Since its founding, the Advisory Committee has built a membership of over 190 organizations from a broad cross-section of the public interest community and the Internet industry. Additional information, including an updated membership list, is available at http://www.netcaucus.org.
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