Monday October 27, 2003
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Room 80 (Moot Courtroom)
Free and Open to all!
Lunch Served
David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, will discuss the organization's use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel the disclosure of government documents on privacy policy, including electronic surveillance and encryption controls. His recent cases seek the release of information concerning the USA PATRIOT Act, the Total Information Awareness program and the privacy impact of aviation security measures and other homeland security initiatives.
About the Speaker
David L. Sobel is general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). He has an extensive background in Freedom of Information Act cases serving clients such as ABC News, the U.S. Student Association, and the Fund for Constitutional Government. At EPIC, he has litigated numerous cases under the FOIA seeking the disclosure of government information on cryptography, Internet and privacy policy.
Sobel has recently worked on cases involving the Digital Signature Standard, the Clipper Chip, the FBI's Digital Telephony proposal, the so-called 2600/Pentagon City Raid and (most recently) the FBI's Carnivore system. He was co-counsel in Reno v. ACLU, the successful constitutional challenge to the Communications Decency Act decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 1997. He has also written several articles on cryptography policy, including an early piece on encryption policy titled "Governmental Restrictions on the Development and Dissemination of Cryptographic Technologies" (1993).