Congress is likely to make progress on some privacy bills introduced after a summer of leaks about government surveillance programs, said staffers at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) during a news briefing Thursday. One such “bill to watch” is the FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act, introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., because it was “introduced by a committee chairman who has the power to move his bill,” said Greg Nojeim, director of CDT’s Project on Freedom, Security and Technology. Nojeim also said he was optimistic about bills to revise the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., “wants to do a comprehensive bill, and they're working on coming up with something,” he said.

Congress is likely to make progress on some privacy bills introduced after a summer of leaks about government surveillance programs, said staffers at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) during a news briefing Thursday. One such “bill to watch” is the FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act, introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., because it was “introduced by a committee chairman who has the power to move his bill,” said Greg Nojeim, director of CDT’s Project on Freedom, Security and Technology. Nojeim also said he was optimistic about bills to revise the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., “wants to do a comprehensive bill, and they're working on coming up with something,” he said.

Microsoft and Google filed a motion for stay Friday, requesting an additional 10 days to file amended motions in their case against the Department of Justice over government surveillance programs, said Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) documents (http://1.usa.gov/1769IUT). The case involves requests by Microsoft and Google to release more specific information about the requests they receive for user information under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The motion for stay gives Justice more time to file its opposition brief, which -- after six extensions -- was to be due to the FISC on Friday. Justice declined to comment other than directing us to the case’s FISC docket and last week’s statement from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that committed to release aggregate information annually about FISA surveillance programs (CD Sept 2 p3). An industry official said the amended requests will likely mirror requests made in a coalition letter -- signed by 22 companies including Google and Microsoft -- to the White House, intelligence community and members of Congress (http://bit.ly/13wbD0Y). “We're thankful to Google and Microsoft for continuing to fight in court for their First Amendment right to inform their users, and for refusing to accept the Administration’s transparency half-measures,” said Kevin Bankston, Center for Democracy and Technology director-free expression, in a statement Friday. He said last week’s “events make clear that Congress should move forward immediately with the transparency reporting legislation” introduced in August in both the House and the Senate, “rather than waiting to see if the Administration will deliver meaningful transparency on its own.”

Microsoft and Google filed a motion for stay Friday, requesting an additional 10 days to file amended motions in their case against the Department of Justice over government surveillance programs, said Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) documents (http://1.usa.gov/1769IUT). The case involves requests by Microsoft and Google to release more specific information about the requests they receive for user information under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The motion for stay gives Justice more time to file its opposition brief, which -- after six extensions -- was to be due to the FISC on Friday. Justice declined to comment other than directing us to the case’s FISC docket and last week’s statement from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that committed to release aggregate information annually about FISA surveillance programs. A source familiar with the issue said the amended requests will likely mirror requests made in a coalition letter -- signed by 22 companies including Google and Microsoft -- to the White House, intelligence community and members of Congress (http://bit.ly/13wbD0Y). “We're thankful to Google and Microsoft for continuing to fight in court for their First Amendment right to inform their users, and for refusing to accept the Administration’s transparency half-measures,” said Kevin Bankston, Center for Democracy and Technology director-free expression, in a statement Friday. He said last week’s “events make clear that Congress should move forward immediately with the transparency reporting legislation” introduced in August in both the House and the Senate, “rather than waiting to see if the Administration will deliver meaningful transparency on its own.”

Microsoft and Google filed a motion for stay Friday, requesting an additional 10 days to file amended motions in their case against the Department of Justice over government surveillance programs, according to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) documents (http://1.usa.gov/1769IUT). The case involves requests by Microsoft and Google to release more specific information about the requests they receive for user information under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The motion for stay gives Justice more time to file its opposition brief, which -- after six extensions -- was to be due to the FISC on Friday. Justice declined to comment other than directing us to the case’s FISC docket and last week’s statement from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in which he committed to release aggregate information annually about FISA surveillance programs (WID Sept 2 p3). An industry official familiar with the issue said the amended requests will likely mirror requests made in a coalition letter -- signed by 22 companies including Google and Microsoft -- to the White House, intelligence community and members of Congress (http://bit.ly/13wbD0Y). “We're thankful to Google and Microsoft for continuing to fight in court for their First Amendment right to inform their users, and for refusing to accept the Administration’s transparency half-measures,” Kevin Bankston, Center for Democracy and Technology director-free expression, said in a statement Friday. He said last week’s “events make clear that Congress should move forward immediately with the transparency reporting legislation” introduced in August in both the House and the Senate, “rather than waiting to see if the Administration will deliver meaningful transparency on its own.”

Mobile privacy stakeholders expressed concerns about NTIA-facilitated discussions that spanned the last year and sought to develop a code of conduct on how app developers inform users of their privacy policies, during a Thursday meeting convened by the agency. Administrator Larry Strickling praised the process and its outcome, saying he “couldn’t be happier with the results” and described the group’s work as “a learning experience for all of us.” John Morris, NTIA director-Internet policy, described the process as an “extremely constructive and productive conversation."

Mobile privacy stakeholders expressed concerns about NTIA-facilitated discussions that spanned the last year and sought to develop a code of conduct on how app developers inform users of their privacy policies, during a Thursday meeting convened by the agency. Administrator Larry Strickling praised the process and its outcome, saying he “couldn’t be happier with the results” and described the group’s work as “a learning experience for all of us.” John Morris, NTIA director-Internet policy, described the process as an “extremely constructive and productive conversation."

A host of tech industry groups gave the Obama administration a set of recommendations to address privacy and civil liberties concerns while “fostering technology innovation and economic growth,” in a letter sent to the White House and members of Congress Tuesday. The letter followed up on a set of meetings earlier this month with the administration in which the president asked for further recommendations, the groups said. Center for Democracy and Technology President Leslie Harris said the letter was “an important first step,” most notably for the industry’s united push for reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

A host of tech industry groups gave the Obama administration a set of recommendations to address privacy and civil liberties concerns while “fostering technology innovation and economic growth,” in a letter sent to the White House and members of Congress Tuesday. The letter followed up on a set of meetings earlier this month with the administration in which the president asked for further recommendations, the groups said. Center for Democracy and Technology President Leslie Harris said the letter was “an important first step,” most notably for the industry’s united push for reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Increased congressional activity is likely focused on government surveillance, said members of Congress and privacy advocates Friday after The Washington Post reported on a leaked National Security Agency audit. The NSA audit said the agency’s surveillance programs violated court orders and other privacy protections (http://wapo.st/19ylImi). Aides from several relevant committees attended a last-minute briefing, convened by the Senate Intelligence Committee, to discuss the NSA audit Friday morning. Staffers from the Intelligence, Judiciary and Appropriations committees in both the House and Senate and from both parties were invited, aides told us. They said leadership staffers were also invited to the lengthy meeting.