The FINITE STRING, Volume 15, Number 5 (continued)

Alexander 0 Rblh D~rector Wash~nglon Oflice

Pender M McCarter Editor

d%

Washington

Report

I

* * * * * * * i * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * . * * * * * * * m *

Zmer can Federal on of Informat on Process~ng Sos et (s inc Wash ngton 01 ce 1815 North Lynn Street Sute 8$5 At1 nglon V rglW2209 703 243 3000

Vol. V, No, 2 February, 1979

PRESIDENT TO SUPPORT

LIMITED PRIVACY INgTIATIVE

Consistent wPth the Lelectlve approacn of the U S t o privacy ~ e g u l a t l o n (versus the onmibus

app~oach

of the Europeans on the subject), the

Carter A b l n l s t x a t l o n i s expected t o support & hmited l e g i s l a t i v e

program i n the 96th Congress on privacy issues. The President's response

t o the recommendations of t h e Privacy Protection Study Commission and

previous legaslative e f f o r t s , termed the p r i v y i n i t i a t i v e ,

r

i$ energlng

from a year-long study by an ad hoe group w i t in

Mr.

Carter's Domestic

Pollcy Staff. The study died "Baby Blueff (compared with a l a r g d

,

supporting b lue-colored d o m e n t called "Big Blueu) was delivered to

the President last December. The group, known a f t h e White House Brlvacy

Study Coordinating Cornmitree, 1s headed by Stuart E Eizenstat, Assistant

t o the President f o r Domestlc Affairs, and Juanita M Kreps, Secretary of Commerce.

Atlmlnistration Proposals Jt 4s reported t h a t Mr. Carter may mention

the prlvacy initiative In Rls State of the Union Address i n January

The Adminxstrat ion' s proposds a r e expected t o r;ent e r oh lamit ing Federal access t o data i n the prtvate sector, z,e., i n the area of medicine,

credit and insurance. The Privacy Coordinatu~g Committee recommended

t h a t these limlts on access should apply equally, t o state'and local

governments The Committee endorsed Federal l q p ~ l a t ion l e a v ~ n g st a t es t o adopt laws Ifthat meet certain mrnimum standartis.

"

The. privacy proposals would give individuals the r l g h t of "ownership" t o personal data maintained i n

ap

medical, credit and insurance sectors

r

,-

I N THIS ISSUE

PFESEGIDENT TO SUPPORT L I M I ~ ~ D PRIVAGT INITIATIVE ₁

AFIPS

IN WASHINGTON

WITNESS

STATEMENTS

AVAILABLE

THROUGH

WASHINGTON OFF

ICE

DETAILED

₃

SPECIAL REPORT

EUROPEANS SEE

'WIDER CONCERN'IN

RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSBORDER DATA

,FLOW

4

NEWS BRTEFS

. . . .

. .

.

. . .

.

. . .

. . . 7

76

Thus,

i n d i v i d u a l s would be e n t i t l e d t o review information i n order $0

c o r r e c t e r r o r s . (Aetna Life

G

Casualty

Co. has i n i t i a t e d

a

s i m i l a r policy,' a t t h e urging of

William

0. Bailw, Aetna Life p r e s i d e n t , and

former

Privacy

Protection

Study

Commissian

member.)

I t

is possible

t h a t

t h i s

right

of

Mournership" w i l l be incorporated i n t o l e g i s l a t i o n amending

the Fair Beds*

~apor.t;{ng

Act.

The

proposals

would a l s o f o r b i d d i s c l o s u r e of information

where

t h e r e

i s

an

expectation of ~ o n f i d e n t i a l i t y . ~ ~

The

Gonupittee

agreed

t o

exclude

a

recommendation t h a t wnllld encompass computerized

telephone records.

The

Administration

'

s

privacy a g e ~ d a seems t o coincide

with t h a t of Rep. ~ i c f i a r d s o ~ Preyer (D-N. C.) who p r e d i c t s t h e Congress

w i l l consider measures concerning medical records, banking recbrds and

t h i r d - p a r t y records.

'Administrative Steps. Besides t h e l e g i s l a t i v e proposals on privacy,

t h e President- i s expected t o

take

some l1adm$nistrat iv e s t e p s , t t using

executive

authoriza kion (see

WashCngton

Report,

12/ 78, p . 11).

' I n t e r n a t i o n a l Information Issues.' The privacy i n i t i a t i v e precedes

exp-ted fi Pture Administration proposais on so-calded " m t e r n a t i o n a l Information issues, I' such

as

overseas r e s t r i c t i o n s

on

transborder d a t a

flow, t h e transmission

o f

d a t a across i n t e r n a t i o n a l

boundaries.

Henry

Geller, Assistant Secretary of Commerce f o r Communications E Information,

has noted it i s time f o r t h e U.S. t o l5bring'

.

.

.

[ ~ t s own] house i n

ordert1 on privacy i s s u e s (see

Washingtm

Report, 12/78, p. 11).

Role of t h e Computer. R e c ~ g n i z i n g the r o l e of t h e computer i n f a c i l i t a r i n g

the c o l l e c t i o n and dissemination o f information, Carter o f f i c i a l % s t a t e t h a t l e g a l p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e indiscriminate use of d a t a h a s not

developed a s r a p i d l y as t h e technology. In one d r a f t of t h e r e p o r t prepared f o r t h e President by t h e Privacy Coordinatilig Committee, t h e

group noted that, "We are faced by a slow b u t steady erosion of privacy which ~f l e f t unreversed,

will

t a k e us

(in

another generation) - t o a

position

wherce

t h e e x t e n t of

our

human r l g h t s

and

v i t a l i t y of our democracy will be j e ~ p a r d i z e d

.

"

Previous Privacy Legisl atlon. The Pres identlal Prrvacy init lati-ve

follows passage o f t h e

Privacy

A c t

of

1974 and the

Right t o

FinrmciaZ

*

Privacy

Act

(FJashington

Report, 12/78, p. 1)

.

The

Privacq

A c t Limits

Federal agencies acceks t o personal informat ion held by o t h e r Fadera1 agencies.

The

Right

tt~

~ i n a r i c i a ~ '

Privacy

Act limits Federal access t o

personal lnformation

i n

t h e f i n & c l a l s e c t o r . Cited as ~ m a j d ? * a c h l e v e -

ment by t h e Carterr Administration, t h e

Financia2

Privacy

Act has been

c r i t i c j z e d by c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s for increasing t h e p o t e n t i a l number

of bank examinations conducted by Federal i n v e s t i g a t o r s ; for lacking s u f f i c i e n t l e g a l grounds t o challenge unreasonable access t o data; and

for

exempting p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n g r o q s . [An i n t e r n a l audit, made public r e c e n t l y by the U.S. P o s t a l S e r v i c e c r i t i c i z e s t h e Post Off i c e f o r

inadequate implementation of t h e %u&y Act of 1974.1

Effect of Gongressional Elections on Privacy Issues. The s u r p r i s e

d e f e a t of Rep. Edward W. P a t t i s o n I D - N . Y . )

i n

t h e November Congressional e l e c t i o n s removes a

staunch

defender

of f i n a n c i a l p r i v a c y l e g i s l a t i o n

from t h e House ~ d k i n g Committee. A l s o , on t h e SsRate s i d e , Sen. Thomas

J. McIntyrets (D-N.H.) l o s s

i s e x p e ~ t e d

-to+change rne c h a r a c t e r of t h e

Financial I n s t i t u t i a n s Subcommittee which t h e

Senator

chaired.

koweyer,

77

strong privacy advocates were e l e c t e d

t o t h e

House of Representatives i n C a l i f o r n i a :

a

Democrat, Vic Fazxo, sponsor of

a

Fair

Information P r a c t i c e

B i l l enacted i n C a l i f o r n i a i n 1977;

and

a Republican, Jerry

Lewis

(no r e l a t i o n t o t h e pnt-ertainerl, spoqsor

of

additional. state-wide

AFIPS

IN

WASHINGTON

WITNESS

STATEMENTS AVAILABLE 'I%ROUGM/WASHINGTON OFFICE DETAI LED

The

AFIPS Washington Office

has

compiled numerous-witness statements

made b e f o r e t h e Executive p d L e g i s l a t i v e Branches of vvernment on

information p o l i c y i s s u e s

as

p a r t of

a

Witqess Statement Exchange i n i t i a t e d

last

year

(Washing,ton

Report,lll/78,

p.

6 ) .

For

participants

i n

t h e

witness statement exchange ( r u l e s for p a r t i c i p a t i o n 'dbscribed below), t h e $bllowing wltness statements may be obtained s

H.

R. 214,

The

Bit2

of Rights

Procedms

Act. P h i l i p B. Heyman, appearing

~ u 13, f ~1978, b e f o r e t h e House Subcommittee on Courts; Richard J. Davis, A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y of t h e Treasury, Enforcement and Operation, 3epartrngnt of t h e Treasury, appeariGg J u l y 20; - 1978; and Paul 'G. ~ o e , ~ s s i s t a n t

Chief Pa

j t a l Inspector, -CriminqA I n v e s t i g a t i o n s ,

U.S.

Postal

Service,

appearing J u l y 20th.

H.R. 13015,

171s

Conununications

Act of 1078. Tyrone Brown, commissioner, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), appearing J u l y 18, 1978, before

t h e House Subcommittee on ~ommunications; k r g i t a W E. h i t e , commissioner,

FCC, appearirig J u l y 18, 1978;

James

H. Quello, commissioner, FCC, appearing

J u l y 18th; P h i l i p S. Nyborg

,

vice-p9esident &id general counsel Camputer

6

Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

,

appearing August 3, 1978;

Charles

b.

F e r r i s , chairman FCC, appearing ~ u ~ u s t 9, 1978; Joseph R. Fag-ty, commissioner, FCC, appearing August 9 t h ; MaTgita E. White, conunissioner,'

F E ,

appearing August 9th;

L.

C. Whitney, p r e s i d e n t , National Data

Corp.

,

appearing August 10, 19J8; and Herbert N. . J a s p e r , executive v i c e p r e s i d e n t , Aa Hoc Committee

f o r

Competitive Telec~mmunications. appearing

August lWth.

S. 2096,

The

' R i g h t

to

Financial

Privacy Act

of

1977, and S. 2293,

The

EZsotronio Fwd8 T m s f e r

Act

of

1977. Robert E l l i s Sgith, p u b l i s h e r ,

Privacy

JournaZ, appearing May 19,

1978 , T e f o r e t h e Senaxe Subcommittee on Financial I n s t i t u t i o n s .

S.

3270, The

Jus*ice.

System

_Improvsment

Act

of

2978.

Jeffrey

A. Roth, senior economic a n a l y s t , I n s t i t u t e f o r Law & S o c i a l Research, appearing ~ u ~ u s t - 2 3 , 1978, b e f o r e t h e ~ e n a t e , ~ u b c o m m i t t ~ e on-Criminal Laws

6

Procedures;

also,

James E rfke Cameron, chairman, Conference of Chief J u s t i c e s , appearing August 23, 1978; P a t r i c k V. Murphy, p r e s i d e n t ,

Police Foundation, appearing August 23rd; and Glen D. King, executive d i r e c t o r , I n t e r n a t i o h a l Association of Chiefs of Police, appearing August 23rd.

'

Confidentiality of Medical Records.

'

Richard I. Beattie, deputy general

counsel,

Department of

Health, Education

6

Welfare, appearing May 23,

1978, b s f o t e tWe Hwse Qybcommittee

on

Government Information 6 IndiVidual

Rights.

EX

arts.!

Juanita

M.

Kreps,

Secretary

of Commerce, appearing September 28,

e f o r e the Senate Committee

on

Commerce, Science

4

Transportation.

*

'Future of ! h a l l Business i n America.' John H Shenefield, a s s i s t a n t attorney general, Ahtitrust Divtsion, Department of J u s t i c e , appearing July 20, 197,8, befoae

the

House

Subcommittee on Antitrust: Consumers &

Employment;

and

d.

G. W. Bi i d l e , f l e s i d e n t , CCIA, appearing July 20, 1978.

High Technol'ogy Businesses. Jean

N.

Tariot

,

chairman, Incotem COT.

,

appearing July 20, 1978, befqre t h e J o i n t Senate Committee on Small ~ u s i n e s s

and

House

~ubcommit t e e on A n t i t r u s t , Consumers 6 Employment ; and Lester A. F e t t i g j administrat&, Federal ~ r o c u r e m e k Policy, Office of Management 6 Budget, appearing August 10, 1978.

Rules f o r Participation. To p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e exchange of statements made before the Executive and Legislative Branches

of

Government on

informagion i s s u e s , one

recent

witness statement concerning informasion policy should be s s n t t o : Pender M. McCartex,' Research

Associate, MIPS Washinaton Office, 1815 North Lyqn S t b e t , Suite 805,

Arlington, Virginia 22209.

Thus

enrolled i n t h e program, Specific

witness statement reqiiests

gan

be made (based on t h e above l i s t ) , by mail only, enclosing a ,stamped, self-addressed envelope. For each requested k i t n e s s

stat-nt, one statement s h w l d be included, i n add'ition t o the 'first

establ5shing p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the p r o e r a . I t

is

n o t necessary t o be a witness i n

a

hearing; having access t o

such

statements

is

s u f f i c i e n t .

Updated l i s t i n g s of a v a i l a b l e witness statements w i l l be issued periodically.

SPECIAL

REPORT

EUROPEANS

SEE

WIDER

CONCERN'

IN

RESTRICTIONS ON T R A N S ~ R D E R DATA

FLOW:

:PROTEC'PPEOPLE AGAINST

COMPUTERS

4 COMPUTERS AGAINST PEOPLE1

*

Citing a long privacy t r a d i t i o n ,

concern

was

expressadsfor the protection of individuals, not nations, "whoever

and

wherever they

are,'!

i n

an

I q t e m a t i d

Conference on Data Rsguktion:

European

d T h i r d

WorZd

ReaZCties,

convened in New York City, November 28-30.

'More

Than

Privacy Q t e r e s t s

.

.

.

I n v ~ l v e d .

Frits

Hondius,

chief,

J u d i c i a l Affairs Directorate,

-Council

' of Europe

(CE)

_{- - -} , t o l d thr Online

Conferences L t d .-sponsored conference t h a t

m&e

than privacy i n t e r e s t s a r e involved i n kuropean r e s t r i c t i o n s on the t r a n s m i s s i o ~ of data across

~ n t e r n a t i o n a l

boundaries.

(The CE

i s preparing

a 1980 t r e a t y concernitlg transborder data flow. ) ~ocord:din~

t o

M.

Hondius,

such

bod-ies a s t h e 20-member CE ( i n which t h e united S t a t e s i s o a y a non-voting member) a r e seeking t o protect l p e o p l e t s r i g h t s and i n t e r e s t s . "

He

added t h a t the

European

goal

i s

t o "protect people against computers and computers

WTI' NILSQN, DIRECTOR, BUSINESS PLWNING, INTELSAT

(LEFT), AND

BRIAN JUDD, SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR CCIS, NATO

(AFIPS/

P . M . McCartcr)

a g a i n s t people.'' Hondius a l s o n o t e d t h e l a c k o f U. S. Government a t t e n d a n c e a t a r e c e n t

CE

s e s s i o n as w & t as a t t h e

On1

i n e Conference.

J a n Freese, d i r e c p r - g e n e r a l , Data I n s p e c t i o n Board, Sweden, agreed t h a t h i s c o u n t r y ' s Data Protection Ac' was d e s i g n e d t o i n s u r e "the u s e of

computer technology on human terms.

"

M r . F r e e s e added t h a t it was h i s philosophy t o " t r y to s o l v e p r o b l e ~ a s b e f o r e t h e y o c c u r .

"

General P r i n c i p l e s of Data P r o t e c t ior, C i t e d . Hondius o u t l i n e d some g e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e s o f d a t a p r o t e c t i o n laws a l r e a d y i n e f f e c t i n some

seven c o u n t r i e s . ( ~ ~ ~ r o x i r n a t e l ~ seven more n a t i o n s are expected t o follow t h e s e c o u n t r i e s with t h e i r own p r i v a c y l e g i s l a t i o n . )

The t h r e e p r i n c i p l e s a r e : ( 1 ) P u b l i c i t y : "People should know what i s going on i n general"; -(2) P r o p r i e t y : ''Data systems s h o u l d b e proper"; and (3)

_.

q o n t r o l : "Recordkeeping should o b s e r v e norms.

"

U.S. Privacy P o l i c y C r i t i c i z e d . While s t a t i n g t h a t U . S . laws such as

t h e Privacy Act of 1974 d i d r e p r e s e n t "a l e g i s l a t i v e s t e p forward," P r o f e s s o r David F

.

Linowes, former chairman, P r i v a c y p r o t e c t i o n Study Commission, s a i d t h a t t h e Pritracy Act p r o v i d e s "no b e n e f i t s £0- t h e

g e n e r a l p u b l i c t ' ; c o q t a i n s t o o many e x c e p t i o n s and t u o O f e w p e n a l t i e s ; and

d i s r e g a r d s a c c o u n t a b i l i t y .

Computer u s e r s from l a r g e mu1 t i n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s a t t e n d i n g t h e

c o n f e r e n c e c r i t i c i z e d t h e U.S. f o r a l a c k of l e a d e r s h i p i n f o r m u l a t i n g a

p o s i t i o n on i s s u e s involved i n t r a n s b o r d e r d a t a flow. According t o ane

PROF. LINOWES, POLITICAL ECONOMY 6 PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS (AFIPS/ P . Y . McCarter)

account o f "an i n f o r m a l , n o t - f o r a t t r i b u t i o n meeting," h e l d a f t e r one o f

t h e c o n f e r e n c e s e s s i o n s , t h e u s e r s formed an

ad

hoe committec t o lobby

on t r a n s b o r d e r d a t a flow i s s u e s .

U.S. I n d u s t r y C r i t i c i z e d . A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f f i c i a l s a p p e a r i n g a t t h e

c o n f e r e n c e r e i t e r a t e d t h e i r c r i t i c i s m o f i n d u s t r y f o r n o t becoming i n v o l v e d i n t h e i s s u e s , and implored i n d u s t r y t o p r o v i d e s p e c i f i c i n s t a n c e s o f

economic harm caused by r e s t r i c t i o n s on t r a n s b o r d e r d a t a flow. A t t e n d i n g t h e c o n f e r e n c e and named a s primary c o n t a c t s f o r i n d u s t r y were: William Fishman, deputy a s s o c i a t e a d m i n i f i r a t o r f o r P o l i c y A n a l y s i s and Development, National Telecommunications

C

I n f o r ~ l t i o n A d m i n i s t r a t i o n

(NTIA),

U.S.

Department o f Commerce; and Morris

-

H,

Crawf ord, Bureau of Oceans G

1 n t e r ; a t i o n a l Environmental ti S c i e n t i f i c A f f a i r s , U . S. Department o f

S t a t e .

OhCD D r a f t i n g Group Meeting Ileld. The D r a f t i n g G r o w o f t h e O r g a n i z a t i o n

o f Economic Cooperation

G

Development (OECD) met December 6 - 8 i n P a r i s t o c o n s i d e r a new d r a f t o f ~ r a n s b o r d e r Data Flow G u i d e l i n e s p r e p a r e d by P e t e r S e i p e l , c o n s u l t a n t t o t h e OECD S e c r e t a r i a t ( WashCngton Report, January, 1979, p. 1)

.

Attending t h e meeting as U . S. r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s were : L ~ c y ~wnmer, Esq., ~ e ~ a r t m e n t of s t a t e ; W i l l iam

Fishman,

NTIA; and James Howard, NTIA.

I n c l u s i o n of Manual F i l e s , 'Legal P e r s o n s ' Debated. A t t h e OECD meeting, t h e r e was s u b s t a n t i a l disagreement on i n c l u d i n g manual f i l e s a s w e l l as

computer f i l e s i n t h e d r a f t g u i d e l i n e s . In a d d i t i o n , t h e d e l e g a t i o n s were d i v i d e d on extending p r i v a c y p r o t e c t i o n t o l l l e g a l p e r s o n s " ( L e . , b u s i n e s s

corporat iong and v a r i o u s o t h e r organizations) as well as i n d i v i d u a l s . 8 1

The

Europeans favor

a

more

comprehensive approach t o p r i v a c y l e g i s l a t i o n

and g e n e r a l l y view as i n e f f e c t u a l t h e s e l e c t i v e approach taken by t h e U.S.

Consensus Said t o b e Supporting U . S . P o s i t i o n .

Despite

t h e s e r e c e n t developments,

a

consensus

is

s a i d

t o

be growing i n both t h e

OECD

and t h e

Council of

Europe

supporting

the

U.S.

position.

For example, t h e l a t e s t

Seipel

draft has been

interpreted

by

an

Administrati on source a s being

"very

favorable"

t o

the U .

S.

p o s i t i o n .

NEWS BRIEFS

A recommendation

f o r

a

3 e c i a l

Assistant

t o

t h e President f o r Information Technology Policy, Plans ,ti Programs, contained i n a t e n t a t i v e

Discussion

Draft

o f t h e

f i n a l

Surunury

Report

on Infomration

TechnoZogy

& Godernmental Reorganization of t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s Federal Data

Processing Rewganization P r o j e c t (FDPRP)

(Washington

Repdrt,

10/78,

g. 51,

has

been" dropped

i n

a f i n a l d r a f t ; according t o t h e most r e c e n t version of t h e consensus r e p o r t

[now

c i r c u l a t i n g amopg Cabinet and

Office of Management

6

Budget (OMB) o f f i c i a l s ] , t h e FDPRP majority

-

view "holds t h a t t h e

.

.

.

[FDPRPIreqommendation

-

can and

-

must be implemented through a s t r o n g and p e r s e v e r i n g P r e s i d e n t i a l i n j t l a t l v e through t h e

OMB.

.

.

. I 1 ; t h e

OMB

i s expected t o pqesent t h e consensus

r e p o r t t o the' President a f t e r f i n a l r e v i s i o n s .

A formal study "to determine t h e Administration's p o l i c y

.

.

, [on] the f u t u r e r o l e of t h e

U.S.

P o s t a l Service i n providing s e r v i c e s by

e l e c t r o n i c ~omrnunications~' i s b e i ~ g i n i t i a t e d by t h e White House under S t u a r t E i z e n s t a t . t h e A s s i s t a n t t o t h e P r e s i d e n t f o r Domestic

Policy; an Interagency Coordinating Committee, chaired by M r . Ei z e n s t a t

,

met December 13th t o o u t l i n e e l e c t r o n i c communicationst i s s u e s ; t h e

National Telecommunications E Information Administration, designated

as "lead s t a f f agency" f o r t h e study, i s s o l i c i t i n g comments from " i n t e r g s t e d i n d i v i d u a l s o r organizations"

t o

be considered

i n

t h p development of the Adminlstrationl s p o s i t i o n ; Congress i s expected t o address the i s s u e t h i s Spring.

In December, t h e P o s t a l Service Buard of Governors authorized temporary implementation o f E-COM s e r v i c e , an e l e c t r o n i c message s e r v i c e (EMS)

f o r large-volume u s e r s (see Washington Report, 11/78, - p . 3); i n November, Postmaster General William F . Bolger approved a f o u r h l l i o n d o l l a r

e l e c t r o n i c mail experiment beginning t h i s year; also i n November,

Xerox COT. f i l e d a r e q u e s t with t h e Federal Conununications Commission t o r e a l l o c a t e a p o r t i o n of t b e r a d i o spectrum f o r EMS.

[ B l e t t e r information- i s needed

.

.

.

t o make assessment and e v a l u a t i o n o f the p o l i c y a l t e r n a t i v e s regarding

CCH

[ t h e computerized c r i m i n a l

h i s t o r y f i l e ] , " according' t o an

Office

of

Techno~ogy Assessment (OTA) study r e l e a s e d

i n

January, t h e f i r s t phase of a new OTA assessment of t h e

Social

Implications o f National Information systems ; e n t i t l e d

A Pre

timinary

AssessmentL

of the

NationaZ

C r i m e

Information Center

and

the

Computerized

CriminaZ

History

System (#- - e n d o s e $2.75)

,

t h e study notes, "Although

CM

has been t h e s u b j e c t of numerous s t u d i e s , conferences

and h e a r i n g s , t h e r e is o n l y l i m i t e d i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e ways

is

which law e n f ~ r c m e n t and t h e c r i m i n a l j u s t i c e d e c i s i o n m a k e r s , as w e l l as o t h e r government and p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s and t h e press

make use of c r i m i n a l h i s t o r y i n f o r m a t i o n , i t s b e n e f i t s , t h e v a l u e o f n a t i o n w i d e access t o i n f o r m a t i o n , and t h e v a l u e o f r a p i d access.

The General Accounting O f f i c e (GAO) i s p r e p a r i n g t o r e l e a s e a new s t u d y

e n t i t l e d Security of Automated Information Systems of Federa2 Agencies;

a c c o r d i n g t o ia t e n t a t i v e o u t l i n e of t h e GAO report, o b t a i n e d b y t h e AFIPS Washington O f f i c e , I1organizatiwnal s t r u c t u r e s 1 \ a r e I1inadequatelt and lfcomprehensive procedures" are n o n e x i s t e n t i n c u r r e n t F e d e r a l

s e c u r i t y p r e c a u t i o n s .

A r e s e a r c h and development p r o j e c t t o e v a l u a t e t h e u s e of d a t a e n c r y p t i o n d e v i c e s i n p r o t e c t i n g t h e F e d e r a l Reserve System1 s, (FRS) Fedwire o p e r a t i o n s i s e x p e c t e d t o be completed t h i s J u n e ; Fedwire, a form o f e l e c t r o n i c f u n d s t r a n s f e r , l i n k s FRS t o member g a n k s n a t i o n w i d e . I n December, t h e Department of J u s t i c e s a i d i t is c o n s i d e r i n g computer

crimc involved i n c o u n t e r f e i t o r s t o l e n s e c u r i t i e s a s well a s

bribery and k i c k b a c k s .

The F e d e r a l Cofimunications Commission

-

(FCC) 1 s e x p e c t e d t o add t h e Corrputer

Inquimj

II

t o i t s weekly agenda a g a i n , a f t e r two p r e v i o u s postponements; t h e FCC may d e t e r m i n e whether AI'ET, a r e g u l a t e d communications common c a r r i e r , can p r o v i d e u n r e g u l a t e d d a t a p r o c e s s i n g s e f v i c e s .

The Supreme Court i s e o n s i d e r i n g whether, u n d e r t h e Freedom of" I n f o m a t i o n

A c t , i n d i v i d u a l s "can o b t a i n c o n f i d e n t i a l b u s i n e s s d a t a ; i n November, t h e High Court l e t s t a n d a U.S. Court o f Appeals d e c i s i o n (Washington

R e p o r t , 6/78, p . 4) a l l o w i n g MCI Communications Corp. t o u s e AT6T1 s

l o c a l phone conn'ection t o impleme,nt Execunet

,

hlCI1 s long d i s t a n c e t e l e p h o n e s e r v i c e p r o v i d i n g v o i c e and d a t a communications.

In December, t h e O f f i c e o f Management

Fr

Budget (OMBI i s s u e d f o r comment a directive which would r e q u i r e F e d e r a l agency d a t a p r o c e s s i n g u s e r s t o account f o r t h e f u t u r e c o s t of t h e i r DP systems; a l s o i n December,

I t

OMB i s s u e d an a n n o t a t e h b i b l i o g r a p h y ( # ) of c u r r e n t laws, p a n l c i e s ,

r e g u l a t i o n s , and "guidance d,,cumentslV which a r e r e l e v a n t t o t h e

a c q u i s i t i o n , mqnagement

,

ana use of F e d e r a l d a t a p r o c e s s i n g and r e l a t e d telecommunications r e s o u r c e s ; f i n a l l y , i n December, OMB i s s u e d a l i s t

( # ) of F e d e r a l p o l i c i e s , r e g u l a t i o n s , s t a n d a r d s , g u i d e l i n e s , and o t h e r r e f e r e n c e documents p e r t a i n i n g t o computer s e c u r i t y .

The I1baslc philosophy" o f t h e ~omrnunicat i o n s A c t ~ e w r i t e ill remaln t h e same." a c c o r d i n g te former R ~ D . Louis Frev ( R - F l a . ) . u n t i l t h i s v e a r < .

-

-

r a n k i n g member o f t h e House ~ b m u n i c a t i o n s .Subcommittee; p r e d i c t i o n s have a l s o been made that " s i g n i f i c a n t changes: w i l i be i n c o r p o r a t e d i-n the l e g i s l a t i o n t h i s y e a r , p r e v i o u s l y known a s t h e Communications Act of 1 9 7 8 (Washington R e p o r t , 1 0 J 7 8 , p . 3).

A new s~ibcommittee on l l P r o f e s s i o n a l i s m 6 M a l p r a c t i c e o f Computer , S p e c i a l i s t s 1 I

has been formed by t h e Committee on -Law R e l a t i n g 'to Cbmputers o f t h e American Bar A s s o c i a t i o n ' s S c i e n c e 6 Technology S e c t i o n ; h e a d i n g the

subcommittee i s *J.T. Westermeier, J r . , member o f a Washington, Q .C. law f inn.

FEBRUARY, 1979 8 ~ F I P S ViASIIINGTON RrPORT

Ed. : I n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e F e b r u a r y , 1979, AFIPS Washington Report j s c u r r e n t as of J a n u a r y 5, 1979, p r e s s t i m e . P r o d u c t i o n a s s i s t a n c e f o r t h e Vashington

Report i s provided by Linda M a r t i n . AFIPS s o c i e t i e s have p e r m i s s i o n t o use m a t e r i a l i n t h e n e w s l e t t e r f o r t h e i r own p u b l i c a t i o n s . Documents i n d i c a t e d by t h e symbol a r e a v a i l a b l e on r e q u e s t t o t h e Washington O f f i c e . Re- q u e s t s s h o u l d s p e c i f y t h e da<e(s) o f t h e Report i n which t h e document(s) a p p e a r e d . Where p r i c e i s n o t e d , make checks paybble t o "AFIPS . I '

Alexander D Roth D ~ r e c l o r Wash~nglon Ofl~ce

Pender M McCarter Ed~tor

d !

Washington Report

rnerlcan Federalon of Inlormat~on Process~ng Soc~el~es Inc Wash~nglon Ofllce 1815 North Lynn Street Sude B n a ~ r l ~ n g t o n Vlrglnla 22209 703 243 3000

Vol. V, No. 3 March, 1979

WASHINGTON DEVELOPMENTS

PRESIDENT, CONGRESS ADDPESS INFORMATION POLICY ISSUES

Amidst p r e d i c t ions that- t h e 96th Congress i s concentrating on oversight of e x i s t i n g Government programs, t h e r e is no dearth o f information

policy-related l e g i s l a t i o n on t h e Congressional Calendar, sustaining t h e momentum of t h e 95th Congress which enacted 74 new laws a f f e c t i n g U. S.

informat ion pol icy. [ ~ d i t o r ? s Note : A House o f Represent a t i v e s committee Print describing t h e s e laws i s a v a i l a b l e on request t o t h e

M I P S Washington Off i c e . ]

Privacy Legislation. Much of t h e information policy-related l e g i s l a t i o n ceoters on privacy issues. President Carter referred t o planned privacy l e g i s l a t i o n a f f e c t i n g Government access t o records i n t h e medical and f i n a n c i a l s e c t o r s (see Washington Report, 12/78, p. 1) in h i s Supplemental

State of t h e Union Address delivered t o the Congress on January 25th.

Under t h e heading of "Civil Liberties : Privacy, t h e President s a i d :

Government and private- i n s t i t u t i o n s c o l l e c t increasingly large amounts of personal data and use them t o make many c r u c i a l

decisions about indfviduals. Much of t h i s 'information i s needed t o enforce laws, deliver b e n e f i t s , provide c r e d i t , and conduct similar, important services. ~bwever, t h e s e i n t e r e s t s must be balanced against the individuals r i g h t t o privacy and against

t h e harm t h a t unfair uses of infarmation can cause. Individuals shoul'd be able t o know what information organizations c o l l e c t and maintain about them; they should be a b l e t o c o r r e c t inaccbrate records; and t h e r e should be limits on t h e disclosure of

p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v e personal information.

I N THIS ISSUE

PRESIDENT, CONGRESS ADDRESS INFORMATION POLICY ISSUES

. .

. . .

1

AFIPS IN WASHINGTON

t

CIVIL SERVICE SHOULD

REVISE

PROPOSED STANDARDS FOR COMPUTER-RELATED OCCUPATIONS

.

. . .

5

CONSUMER LIABILITY COULD BE LIMITED TO $500

IN

EFT.

. .

.

.

. .

.

6

NEWS BRIEFS

.

.

.

.

. . .

.

. .

,

. .

.

. .

. .

. .

.

. .

.

.

,

. . .

81

85?

M r . C a r t e r concluded d e f i n i n g planned a d m i n i s t r a t i v e measures implementing

privacy protections ( s e e

Washinqton

Report, ,2/79, p . 2)

,

as f o l lows :

My Administration is develaping a comprehensive p r i v a c y p o l i c y t o a d d r e s s t h e s e concerns. Last year, l e g i s l a t i o n was enacted which e s t a b l i s h e d r e s t r i c t i o n s on

.

. .

Government a c c e s s t o f i n a n c i a l records. Early i n 1979; I w i l l propose p r i v a c y l e g i s l a t i o n t o cover medical, f i n a n c i a l , and o t h e r s e n s i t i v e p e r s o n a l r e c o r d s . I

w i l l a l s o t a k e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a c t i o n s t o s t r e n g t h e n p r i v a c y c o n t r o l s

f o r Federal agencies' r e c o r d s .

NTIA Proposals. The National Telecommunications

E

Informat ion Administration

(NTIA) is s a i d t o be p r e p a r i n g l e g i s l a t i o n f o r i n t r o d u c t i o n t h i s month ( i n March)

,

implementing what i s being' c a l l e d t h e P r e s i d e n t s Privacy I n i t i a t i v e . A p r i n c i p l e underlying t h e l e g i s l a t i o n , according t o an

NTIA s t a f f member, i s t h a t information c o l l e c t e d f o r r e s e a r c h ancl s t a t i s t i c a l purposes "should not be used [by Government] t o make d e c i s i o n s about

people.

HEW

B i l l .

The

Department o f ilealth, Education

d

Welfare

(HEW)

i s a l s o r e p o r t e d

t o

be d r a f t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n on Government a c c e s s t o medical

records. Rep: Richardson Preyer (D-N. C .)

,

chairman of t h e House Subcommit t e e

on ~ o v e r n m e n t Information

E

~ n d i v i d u a l R i g h t s , h a s p r e v i o h s l y expressed i n t e r e s t i n considering p r i v a c y measures concerning- medical r e c o i d s ( s e e

Washington Report, 2/79, p. 2 ) .

Goldwater L e g i s l a t i o n . On January 1 8 t h Rep. Barry M. Goldwater, Jr.

(R-Calif

.

) reintroduced p r i v a c y l e g i s l a t i o n imp1 ement ing recommendat i o n s of t h e Privacy P r o t e c t i o n Study Commission (Washingto~z Report, 8/ 77,

p. l ) , i n c l u d i n g a b i l l t o amend t h e Fair Credit Reporting Act. Mr.

Goldwater's l e g i s l a t i o n i s l i s t e d a s f o l l o w s :

H.R. 344. A b l l l t o amend t h e Fair

Credit Reporting

Act

d e a l i n g

-

with d e p o s i t o r y i n s t i t u t i o n s and p r i v a c y , and for o t h e r purposep; t o t h e Committee on Banking, Finance E Urban A f f a i r s .

H.

R, 345. A b i l l t o amend t h e Fair Credit Reporting Act d e a l i n g with consumer & e d i t and p r i v a c y ; t o t h e Committee on Banking, Finance 6 Urban A f f a i r s .

H.R. 346. A b i l l t o amend t h e

Fair Cr.ed<t

Reporting Act d e a l i n g

with h G r a n c e i n s t i t u t i o n s and p r i v a c y ; t o t h e Committee on Banking, Finance t i Urban A f f a i r s .

H.

R. 347. A b i l l t o amend t h e F d Z y Educati~naZ Rights and Privacy

Act t o provide f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n of t h e p r i v a c y of personal information,

and f o r o t h e r purposes; t o t h e Committee on Education E Labor.

H.R, 349. A b i l l t o amend t h e Privacy Act- of 1 9 7 4 ; t o t h e Committee

on Government Operations.

H.R. 350, A b i l l t o e s t a b l i s h a Federal Information P r a c t i c e s

Board t o review and r e p o r t on f a i r information and p r i v a c y p r a c t i c e s o f Governmental and nnngovernment a1 e n t i t i e s ; t o the Commit t e e on Government Operat ions.

H. R. 354.

4

b i l l

t o

amend t h e

I n t e r n 2 Revenue

Code

of

I058 dealing

with

privacy; t o - t h e Committee on

Ways

t;

Means.

H.R. 358. A b i l l t o r e s t r k t

the

use of

SociaZ

S e c u k t y Act account numbers a s Governmental o r u n i v e r s a l personal i d e n t i f i e r s ; t o t h e

Comrnittee'on Ways 6 Means.

Ha

R.

359. A r b i l l t o provide f o r t h e privacy of c e r t a i n p u b l i c a s s i s t a n c e and s o c i a l s e r v i c e records used

o r

maintained

,by

s t a t e and p r i v a t e agencies under programs r e c e i v i n g Federal f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e ; j o i n t l y , t o the Committees on Agriculture, Inters-te G

Foreign Commerce, and Ways 8 Means.

P

H.

R. 360. A b i l l t o amend T i t l e X I of .the

Sock2 SeewYity Act

t o provide f o r t h e c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y of personal medical information

createa o r maintained -by medtcal c a r e i n s t i t u t i o n s providing service:

under t h e Medicare o r Medicaid firo'grams, and f o r bther purposes;

j o i n t l y , t o t h e Committees on I n t e r s t a t e E Foreign Commerce, and

Ways

G

Means.

H.R.

362. A b i l l t o amend the

Social

Secuf.ity Act

t o

provide f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n of t h e privacy of personal medical information maintained by c e r t a i n medical c a r e i a s t i t u t i o n s ; j o i n t l y , t o t h e Committees on Ways 6 Means, and I n t e r s t a t e 8 Foreigr Commerce.

The Californi'a Congressnpn h a s been quoted a s saying t h a t Congress must

l e g i s l a t e i n t h e privacy a r e a whenevef p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e f a i l s t o a c t .

Golduater has served as a member,

of

-

t h e Privacy Protect ion Study Commissioh

Chances fox Passage of Privacy L e g i s l a t i o n .

Chances

for,passage of

privacy l e g i s l a t i o n a r e unpredictable given t h e customary, formidable Congressional procedures

as well

as

p ~ e o c c u p a t i o n with f a r e i g n r e l a t i o n s

and

t h e domestic economy. Among t h e scores o f p r i v a c y - r e l a t e d b i l l s introduced i n t h e 95th Congress, only t h e R.ight t o Financia2 P r h a c y Act

(see

washington

Report, 12/78, p. 1) passed in' t h e e a r l y morning

hours

of t h e last day&of Congress. A bemused Cartter o f f i ~ i a l r e c e n t l y goted t h a t a b i l l a f f e c t i n g Government access t q medical records may o r i g i n a t e i n

as

many a s f o u r d i f f e r e n t Congressional subcommittees. Similarly,

one Cmgressional staffer s t a t e d t h a t information p o l i c y i s 'lmade i n /

d i s p a r a t e environments. Harry M. (Chip) Shooshan $11, chief counsel,

House, Communications Subcomibree, tbld e January meeting of the American

Library AsSociation t h a t t h i s d i s p a r i t y r e s u l t s i n vvcogptrary p o l i c i e s . l1

[ A t l e m t some Cbhgressmen

are

reconsidering support f o r one s e c t i o n

of

t h e

R i g h t

t o

FinrmoiaZ

PrYivaqj

Act

following a Citibank survey which

estimates that compliance

withP

t h e b i l s ' s n o t i c e r e q u i r e q e n t s by f i n a n c i a l i n s d l t u t i o n s cou,ld c o s t as m c n

as

one b i l l i o n d o l l a r s , r e o a l l i n g pimilay high (and, according t o some privacy advocates, u l t i m a t e l y i n c o r r e c t )

estimates o f

costs

t o

implement the Privacy Act

of

1974.

Sen.

William

Proxmire

(D-Wisc.

)

,

f o r

example,

has introduced S. 37

repead

ing Section

1104[dI

of t h e Act

which

statos

that, " A l l f i A

ancial

i n s t a u t i o n s s h a l l

prolnptly n o t i f x a l l o f , t h e i r customers of

t l e i r

r i g h t s under t h i s ~ t l e . "

9.

A s i m i l a r bill,,II.R. 1777, h a s been introduced i n t h e House, i n ~ e r t i n g I1activef1 a f t e r "notify all of t h e i r m l ' s.37 passed t h e Senate l a s t month.]

Additional

Informaticn.

Policy-Related

Legislation. OtheY

l e g i s l a t i o n 86

introduced t h i s

year

i n t h e informrition policy a r e a includes, a t press

t-ime

i

Communications Actt

Rewrite*

A

new

b i l l ils

scheduled to

be introduced

t h e f i v s t o f t h i s month

( i n

March) with t h e "basic philosophyw i n t k t . [ E d i t o r ' s

Note:

A t l e a s t

one

b i l l i s being cons'idered,

H.R.

2580, t h a t would "reaffirm t h e a u t h o r i t y of t h e s t a t e s t o

r e g u l a t e terminal and s t a t i o n equipment

used

f o r telephone exchange.

s e r v i c e ili c e r t a i n instancps

.

.

.

,

r e c a l l i n g the

Conswner

Comnun3cations

Refom Act, a l s o known i n t h e 95th Congress as t h e " B e l l B i l l J1l

Federal Computer Systems Prdtection

Act

.'

Reintroduced January 25th

b y

Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff (D-Conn. )

,

S. 840 (#) provides

for

a

stri-cter financial penalty f o r compuber

crime

than t h e

previous"

v p r s j c m , s t i p u l a t i n g t h a t

a

f i n e could amount t o as

much

as two

and

one-mew .bimes t h a t

of

t h e t h e f t . Ih s h o r t , t h e b i l l would

make

it

a

Federal

crime

t o access

a

computer

for

fraudulent

purposes

such

a s

t h e f t , sabotage o r embezzlement.

EFT Legislation. Introdbced January 23rd as S, 108 (#) and

H.

R.

2289

(#)

,

the Truth

ln

Und5ng

Simplification

and Reform Act provjdes

t h a t a l l of t h e provisions of t h e

EFT

Act (see

~asJ%ngton

&po"rt,

1 2 / 7 8 , p. 1) would become e f f e c t i v e t h j

s

June i n s t e a d of May, 1980,

as provided in t h e EFT Act.

support;rs

in

t h e House and Senate

are

pred&cting early passage

with

t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s approval expected

in

" l a t e Spring. " In addit ion,

n.

R. 852 would implemwt a d d i t i o n a l

EFT

~ i v a c y l e g i s l a t i o n .

E l e c t r o n i c

Mail.

I n

h i s Supplementary S t a t e o f t h e Union Message, Presidenx Carter alfluded t o Itproposals

- -

on t h e r o l e of t h e Postal

Service i n providing e l e c t r o n i c &.I. s e r v i c e s . I' The House Commit t e e on Post O f f i c e

6

C i v i l Setvice

is

planning h e a r i n g s on e l e c t r o n i c

mil,

though not i n connection with any legislat-ion, according t o

Michael F. Cavanagh., s t a f f

assistant,

House Subcommittee on Postal

Personnel Modernization.

Copyright Protection H.R. 1007 would amend t h e

Copyriqht

Act of

1976 t o provide copyright p r o t e c t i o n f o r imprinted deslgn p a t t e r n s

on semiconductor chips.

Unsolicited Comneweial Telephone Calls. H. R. 377 woula amend t h e

Commmicat$ons

Act

of

1934 t o ' p r o h i b i t making u n s o l i c i t e d commercial telephone c a l l s t o persons who have indicated they do not'wish t o r e c e i v e such ca 11 s

.

"

NSF Science

Education

Functions.

S.

210, a b i l l t o e s t a b l i s h

a

separate Department of Education, would t r a n s f e r

t o

t h e new s e c r e t a r y

of l;h

proposed department programs r e l a t i n g t o science education. of t h e

NSF

o r

t h e d%ector of t h e

NSF."

The

l e g r s l a t i o n would

exempt

such/functions and

programs

as

those

d a t i n g

t o

" e t h i c a l ,

value,

and

sciehce policy

issuesw

o r wcommunicating science

ihformation

t o n ~ n s c i e n t i s t s . f f

Oversight Hearings. Consistent with t h e observation that the 96th 8 7 Congress is concentrating

on

oversight of existing Government

programs, budget

hearings

on

t h e NTIA,

the

Office

of

Science

E

Technology Policy,

the

National

Bureau

of Standards, and the

Off

lce of Technology Assessment have been scheduled through

this

month.

tContentiousl Session. Overall, a 'lcontentiousll s e s s i o n i s predicted

for the 96th Congress. Majority leader James C . Wright (D-Tex.) has been quoted a s saying,-

the

kresldent T1still hasn't learned t o

consui t [with] Congressional 1 eaders

.

" Primary emphasis i s expected

t o be on the budget and related l e g i s l a t i o n . [Editor's Note:

DP

aspects of the Fiscal Year 1980 budget will be a n a v z e d

m

next month

'

s A F l P S Wash.ington Report. ]

AFIPS

IN

WASHINGTON

Standards Do Not Cover Recent Developments

In Information ~rocessing, AFIPS Panel Says CIVIL SERVICE- SHOULD

REVISE

PROPOSED STANDARDS FOR COMPUTER- RELATED OCCUPAT IONS

Pro osed C i v i l Service standards ( # ) affecting Government recruitment of

Y

emp oyees In computer-xelated occupations, f ~ r s t announced In 1978. are already several years out of date and should be r e v ~ s e d , according to

comments (#) released l a s t month by an A F l P S panel. h

AFIPS PANEL

MEMBERS JOHN HAMBLEN

(L)

,

EDMUND

SAWYER (R)

~ b c e n t Dtyrelopnents i n Information Processing. According t b t h e

AFIPS

8 8

pant$, t h e pro'posed standards

40

not cover such r e c e n t developments i n t h e information processing field as t h e c r e a t i o n o f d i s t r i b u t i v e networks, advances

i n

f e l e c o m u n z c a t i o n s the

use

of ' i g t e l l i g e n t t e r m i n a l s t h e

widespread a p p l i c a t i o n of minicomputers and microcomputers, and the

e x i s t e n c e 0% on- l i n e numerio and b i b l i o g r a a h i c d a t a bases.

Panel Recommendations. TIPe AFIPS panel recommended t h a t t h e OPM (1)

c o n s u l t with o u t s i d e sources t o upflafe computer occupatidn standards;

(2) r e v i s e

classif

i c a t i o a ~ t a n d a r d s

$05

computer-related occupations a t

least every f i v e years u n t i l a t least 1999; and (3) i n s u r e t h a t t h e

proposed standards conform with [existingT C i v i l S e r v i c e l a w and r e g u l a t i o n s .

The group n o t e s t h e pervasiveness of cornput& technology i n Government,

t h e i n t e r a c t i o n of c i t i z e n s with computers empioyed by the U. S. i n v a r i o u s programs, and

tAe

need f o r h i g h l y s k i l l e d and motivated personnel t o

e ~ p l o i t t h e technology.

Panel Organization. The AFIPS C i v i l Service Standards Review Panel was

formed 1% response t o a s p e c i a l i n v i t a t i o n by t h e U.S. C i v i l Service

Commission, now t h e o f f i c e of Personnel Management (OPM)

,

t o comment on t e n t a f i v e s t a n d a r d s f o r ,the Computer S p c i a l i s t S e r i e s (GS-334) and. t h e Computer Clerk and A s s i s t a n t s e r f e g (GS-335). me Federal government empleys' s t h d a r d s t o 'clasMfy employees i n p a y J l e v e l s according t o

d i f f i c u l t y , r e m o n s i b i l i t y , and q u a l i f i c a t i e n s r e q u i r e d for t h e w o ~ k

.

The panel r e f l e c t s a v a r i e t y of backgrounds i n c l u d i n g curricu,lar work I n computer s c i e n c e , a n a l y s i s of computer occupations for personpel purposes, and computer usage. Comments r e f l e c t t h e views of t h e panel members,

n o t necessar,ily those of AFIPS, the F e d e r a t i o n ' s c o n s t i t u e n t s o c i e t i e s , o r t h e emphyers of t h e i n d i v i d u a l s involved.

Panel Members. Members o f the panel were : D r . Frances Berger, Psychometrics

Los Angeles; Dr.' Karen Duncan, Mitre Corp.

,

McLean, Va. ; D r . John 1-Iamblen,

U n i v e r s i t y of Missouri-Iioqla; Charles D. LaBelle, Manufacturers Hanover

T r u s t CB., New York; Will*iam P. LaPlant,

J

.

U S . A i r Force, ~ r l i n g t o n , Va. ; Alexander D . Roth, E s q . , AFIPS, Arlington, Va. ; D r . Terry S t t a e t e r .

NASA, Hampton, Vg.; Edmund Sawyer, U.S. Genepal Accounting O f f i c e ,

Washington, D. C . ; and Sidney Welnstein, Association f o r Computing Mach~nery

,

New York

.

New Draft. OPM 1 s expected t o issue another d r a f t o f i t s proposed standards

i n c o r p o r a t i n g comments from groups such as AFI PS.

AFIPS Subcommittee P r e s e n t s Comments t o Fed on

'

EFT Acti

CONSUMER LIABILITY COULD BEp LIMITED TO $500- 1-N ALL EFT TRANSACTIONS

Proposed r e g u l a t i o n s

(#I

of

t h e Board of Governors of the Federal -Reserve

System (FRS) may misconstrue 'the

EZe

*tronir

Funde

Transfer (EFT) Act [ # )

I

t o p o v i d e unlimited cop6umer l i a b i i t y

in

c a s e s of u n a u t h o r ~ z e d EFT

t r a n s f e r , according t o comments (#) r e I e a s e d last month b y an

AFIPS EFT

Subcommittee. Passed by Congress last year, two sect i o n s o f t h e EFT A c t

p e r t a i n i n g t o l i a b i l i t y became e f f e c t i v e February 8 t h The Subcommittee

~ommmats r e f l e c t t h e views of t h e panel mpmbe-rs and not n e c e s s a r i l y

t h o s e of AFIPS, t h e l i e d e r a t i o n ' s c o n s t i t u e n t s o c i e t i e s , t h e AFIPS Washington

Off i c e , o r t h e employers o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s .

Unlimited L i a b i l i t y Q u e ~ t ~ i o n e d . According t o two AFIPS Subcommittee members, a'"thorough r e a d i n g f 1 of t h e law "gives t h e - i m p r e s s i o n t h a t consumer l i a b i l i t y i n

9

c a s e i s l i m i t e d t o $500.00.1f The ~ o a r d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n * c o n t a i n e d i n r e g u l a t i o n s p u b l i s h e d l a s t December i n t h e Federa2 Register, s t a t e s , "If t h e

consumer f a i l s t o r e p o r t w i t h i n 60 days of: T r a n s m i t t a l of t h e p e r i o d i c s t a t e m e n t any u n a u t h o r i z e d e l e c t r o n i c f u n d t r a n s f e r which a p p e a r s on t h ~ s t a t e m e n t , t h e consumer may be l i a b l e fop t h e amount of any u n a u t h o r i z e d transfer whlch, t h e f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n e s t a b A i s h e s would n o t have o c c u r r e d b u t f o r t h e f a i l u r e of t h e cmsumer t o n o t i f y t h e f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n . "

Subconunittee Recommendat i o n s . C i t i n g "adverse economic consequences of

u n a u t h o r i z e d use," a Subcommittee majority recommended t h a t a demand deposit account snould be e s t a b l i s h e d f o r t h e l f e x p r e s s ,purposeu of EFT. T h e - m a j o r i t y a l s o h e l d t h a t t h e p r o v i s i o n s of t h e r e g u l a t i o n s i n t e r p r e t i n g

t h e consumer's l i a b i l i t y section of t h e EFT Act s h o u l d r e q u i r e actual.

n o t i c e t o the consumer b e f o r e any d e b i t i n g i n e x c e s s of $500.00 According

t o t h e AFIPS Subcommittee m a j o r i t y , llEvolving c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d o c t r i n e s a f f e c t i n g prehearing remedies f o r c r e d i t o r s s u g g e s t that i n

.

. .

[extreme cases] t h e r e may be a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l requirement o f p r e h e a r i n g notice

and an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r a h e a r i n g t o c o n t e s t t h e proposed d e b i t i n g b e f o r e such a taking1 may b e e f f e c t e d . l f ' F i n a l l y , t h e Subcommittee recommended

t h a t t h e i s s u a n c e of llaccess d e v i c e s f 1 which s e r v e as combined d e b i t o r c r e d i t cards s h o u g be p r o h i b i t e d , r e c o g n i z i n g t h e i n c r e a s e d risk of t e c h n i c a l f a i l u r e i n t h e t r a n s a c t i o n t e r m i n a l ,

Subcommittee Members. The Ad Hoc Subcommittee c o n s i s t s of f o u r members

chosen by t h e chairman of t h e AFIPS Special Committee on EFTS. William

enw wick

,-

Esq., of Davis, S t a f ford, ~ A l r n a l r

6

enw wick ,> p a l o ~ l i o , C a l i f .

Subcommittee chairman i s Malcolm M. J o n e s , F i r s t N a t i o n a l Bank of Denver.

~ e m b e r s ' a r e : Dr. John L. King, U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a . I r v j n e ; John C . Lautsch, Esq., Davis, Stafford, Kellman 4 Fenwick, Pal? Alto, C a l i f . ;

and Pender M. McCarter.

AFIPS,

Arlington, Va.

MARCH,

1979

AFIPS SUBCOMElITTEE +EMBER JOHN

L.

KING

NEWS BRIEFS

Obligations f o r general-purpose d a t a processing a c t i v i t i e s of .€$ecutive Branch agencies a r e expected t o increask $651.4 m i l l i o n (up 15.8 per cent) from F i s c a l Year (FY) ,1978 t o FY 1979 and $492.4 m i l l i o n

(up 10.3 p e r cent) from FY 1979 t o FY 1980, according t o the O f f i c e of Management &,, Budget (OMB) ; using the OMB estimate, i n the two-year period from FY' 1979 t o FY 1980, the l a r g e s t tlabkolute growfi" i n

data processing and telecommunications resources i s expected i n t h e

Department of Defense (up 34.4 p e r c e n t ) , Pollowed by t h e Department of y e a l t h , Education

6

Welfare, and t h e Department of Energy.

Following t h e White House"s lead (see Washington Beport, 2/78, p . 7 ) ,

t h e Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has i n i t i a t e d an inquiry i n t o t h e l e g a l and p o l i c y i s s u e s r a i s e d by a consideration of t h e

U.

S. Postal Servicet s -- Electronic

---

Computer

- -

o r i g i n a t e d Mail (ECOM) ;

i n i t i a l comments a r e due February 25th, oppositions by March l l t h ,

and r e p l i e s by March 18th; a l s o , in January, t h e Commission, a s p a r t of ' i Zero-Based Regulatory Studies, has agreed t o fund a r e p o r t ~

on "Privacy and Communications S e c u r i t y : t h e FCC' s Role. "

The Departments of J u s t i c e and-Treasury a r e proposing r e g u l a t i o n s which would aultborize t h e departments t o r e q u i r e f i n a n c i a l records from a

f i n a n c i i l i n s t i t u t i o n pursuant t o m e formal w r i t t e p request procedure e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e R i g h t t o FinanciaZ P%vacy Act of 1978 (see Washington Report, 12/78, p . 1) ; deadline f o r comments t o J u s t i c e i s March 2nd;

Treasury, March 5th; t h e Federal Reserve System a l s o sought similar comment by W p l a < y 16 t h

.

In January, t h e Federal Telecommunicati.ons Standards Committee, with r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from numerous Government ad zncies, approved t h e

Advanced Data, Communications Control Proceaures (ADCCP) protocol ;

a l s o , t h e National Bureau of Standards i s reported t o be planpkirg

t o recommend i n t e r f a c e stagdards f o r small computers and p e r i p h e r a l equipment; f i n a l l y , t h e Federal Trade Conimission i s a l s o seeking comment on a proposed t r a d e r e g u l a t i o n r u l e

w b i a

r e p o r t e d l y would

a f f e c t t h e development and implementatian of standards o r , c b r t i f i c a t i m procedures adopted by groups such a s t h e American National Standards

I n s t d t u t e .

In January, t h e Federal Trade Commission adopted r u l e s which would give a

pro r a t a refund to students who drop out of vocational schools o f f e r i n g d a t a processing-related courses; th; r u l e s become e f f e c t i v e next

January, 1980,

Senate eonfirnat.i6n hearings an Anne Jones, named by h e s i d k q t Carter t o

succeed Margita White as member of t h e Federal Communi'cations Commission,

are scheduled February 23rd; Ms. White i s now expected t o r e s i g n h e r post February 28th u n l e s s M s . J m e s i s confirmed beforehand.

MARCH,

1979

r

AF

IPS

WASHINGTON REPORT

J

Ed. : information f o r t h e March, 1979, AFLPS Wash5ngton

R e p g r t

i s c u r r e n t

as of F&uary 16, 1979, press time. Production assistance, f o r t p e Washington

R e p o p t i s providdd by Linda

Martin.

@IPS s o c i e t i e s h>ve permission t o use

material i n t h e newsletter f o r the2 r ~ w n publicafions. Docpments. i n d i c a t e d

by t h e symbol "(#)tf are a v a i l a b l e on request t o t h e Wgshiigton Office. Re- quests should spkcify the d a t e ( s ) of t h e Repont

i n

which, the do&ment(s)

~ppgared. Where price i s noted, make'ebdcs payable t o ."AFIPS. "