With 281 co-sponsors, the Email Privacy Act (HR-699) is the “most supported bill” in the House that hasn't been passed, Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., testified Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee during its Criminal Justice Reform Listening Session. Digital 4th, a bipartisan coalition dedicated to reforming and modernizing Fourth Amendment privacy rights, wrote a letter to House leadership Thursday urging passage of the legislation. The law would “strengthen privacy protections online by updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA),” the letter said.

With 281 co-sponsors, the Email Privacy Act (HR-699) is the “most supported bill” in the House that hasn't been passed, Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., testified Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee during its Criminal Justice Reform Listening Session. Digital 4th, a bipartisan coalition dedicated to reforming and modernizing Fourth Amendment privacy rights, wrote a letter to House leadership Thursday urging passage of the legislation. The law would “strengthen privacy protections online by updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA),” the letter said.

Many eyes are on NTIA's multistakeholder proceeding on drones, since other agencies and Congress may not enact comprehensive privacy measures. At a Society of Professional Journalists D.C. chapter panel Wednesday night, a privacy advocate, drone and media industry lawyers, and the NTIA official helping oversee the agency's nascent privacy discussion voiced some optimism that accord could be reached. Some pointed out that would be in contrast with the agency's multistakeholder dialogue on facial recognition privacy, from which privacy advocates withdrew Tuesday (see 1506160041).

Many eyes are on NTIA's multistakeholder proceeding on drones, since other agencies and Congress may not enact comprehensive privacy measures. At a Society of Professional Journalists D.C. chapter panel Wednesday night, a privacy advocate, drone and media industry lawyers, and the NTIA official helping oversee the agency's nascent privacy discussion voiced some optimism that accord could be reached. Some pointed out that would be in contrast with the agency's multistakeholder dialogue on facial recognition privacy, from which privacy advocates withdrew Tuesday (see 1506160041).

Many eyes are on NTIA's multistakeholder proceeding on drones, since other agencies and Congress may not enact comprehensive privacy measures. At a Society of Professional Journalists D.C. chapter panel Wednesday night, a privacy advocate, drone and media industry lawyers, and the NTIA official helping oversee the agency's nascent privacy discussion voiced some optimism that accord could be reached. Some pointed out that would be in contrast with the agency's multistakeholder dialogue on facial recognition privacy, from which privacy advocates withdrew Tuesday (see 1506160041).

All eight privacy advocates who participated in NTIA facial recognition multistakeholder meetings for the past 16 months withdrew from further deliberations, as some expected (see 1506150061). Their Tuesday letter to NTIA was signed by Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy & Technology Executive Director Alvaro Bedoya, along with advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy & Technology, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog and Electronic Frontier Foundation. At this point, “we do not believe that the NTIA process is likely to yield a set of privacy rules that offers adequate protections for the use of facial recognition technology,” they wrote.

All eight privacy advocates who participated in NTIA facial recognition multistakeholder meetings for the past 16 months withdrew from further deliberations, as some expected (see 1506150061). Their Tuesday letter to NTIA was signed by Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy & Technology Executive Director Alvaro Bedoya, along with advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy & Technology, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog and Electronic Frontier Foundation. At this point, “we do not believe that the NTIA process is likely to yield a set of privacy rules that offers adequate protections for the use of facial recognition technology,” they wrote.

The ICANN board said “we are far more closely aligned” with the ideas contained in a draft proposal for changing ICANN accountability “than many in the community might realize” but said Wednesday it’s concerned that the proposed governance change included in the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability’s (CCWG-Accountability) proposal “creates the possibility for too much change to be introduced into the ICANN system at once.” CCWG-Accountability released its draft accountability proposal in early May as part of ICANN’s planning for the spinoff of NTIA’s oversight of ICANN’s Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions (see 1505060067). The comment deadline was originally Wednesday but ICANN extended the deadline Wednesday to June 10 for submissions that rely on translated versions of the proposal that weren’t initially available. The CCWG-Accountability draft proposal recommends giving ICANN community members additional power to influence the ICANN board’s decisions, including giving the community the ability to recall the entire board or individual board members.

The ICANN board said “we are far more closely aligned” with the ideas contained in a draft proposal for changing ICANN accountability “than many in the community might realize” but said Wednesday it’s concerned that the proposed governance change included in the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability’s (CCWG-Accountability) proposal “creates the possibility for too much change to be introduced into the ICANN system at once.” CCWG-Accountability released its draft accountability proposal in early May as part of ICANN’s planning for the spinoff of NTIA’s oversight of ICANN’s Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions (see 1505060067). The comment deadline was originally Wednesday but ICANN extended the deadline Wednesday to June 10 for submissions that rely on translated versions of the proposal that weren’t initially available. The CCWG-Accountability draft proposal recommends giving ICANN community members additional power to influence the ICANN board’s decisions, including giving the community the ability to recall the entire board or individual board members.

The intelligence community’s bulk collection of U.S. phone records exceeds the scope of USA Patriot Act Section 215, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in the American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union case against the government. It was cheered in interviews by members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and by politicians, companies and advocacy groups that point to the ruling as evidence Congress should pass the USA Freedom Act (HR-2048). Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said the intelligence community’s use of Section 215 is vital to national security. Others warned the intelligence community could find another loophole.