My appointment to President's Review Group, and resignation as Co-Chair

To the Working Group:

            Today the White House announced that I will be serving on President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology.  For those of you who kindly wrote to me or posted on the list before the official announcement, my thanks for the good words, and my apologies that I could not respond until this was official.

            The text of the announcement is below.

            I feel a sense of responsibility in being asked to serve on the Review Group, and to do so as effectively as possible.  I therefore have informed Jeff Jaffe of W3C that I will not be able to continue as co-chair of the Working Group.

            Since last November, I have tried to work diligently with you to meet the goals of theWorking Group.  W3C has been a unique forum for bringing together the diverse perspectives on how commercial actors collect and use personal information on the Internet for advertising and other purposes.  We have clarified the key issues, and I hope all stakeholders will continue your efforts to create a resolution that works well for individual users and a better Internet generally.

            There are more people to thank than I can fit into this email, and any such list would be incomplete.  Anyone who looks at the public email list will see the commitment and effort that so many have given to the work thus far.

            I value the many personal relationships that have been established and deepened during our hard work together.  I will be traveling to D.C. this fall in connection with the Review Group, especially early in most weeks, and welcome the chance to see you there, in Atlanta, and in future settings.

            With every best wish for your success,

            Peter


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2013

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology

On August 9, President Obama called for a high-level group of experts to review our intelligence and communications technologies.  Today the President met with the members of this group: Richard Clarke, Michael Morell, Geoffrey Stone, Cass Sunstein and Peter Swire.

These individuals bring to the task immense experience in national security, intelligence, oversight, privacy and civil liberties. The Review Group will bring a range of experience and perspectives to bear to advise the President on how, in light of advancements in technology, the United States can employ its technical collection capabilities in a way that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while respecting our commitment to privacy and civil liberties, recognizing our need to maintain the public trust, and reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosure.

The President thanked the Members of the Group for taking on this important task and looks forward to hearing from them as their work proceeds. Within 60 days of beginning their work, the Review Group will brief their interim findings to the President through the Director of National Intelligence, and the Review Group will provide a final report and recommendations to the President.

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Prof. Peter P. Swire
Nancy J. and Lawrence P. Huang Professor
Law and Ethics Program
Scheller College of Business
Georgia Institute of Technology

240.994.4142
www.peterswire.net