WASHINGTON D.C. - Key U.S. House counsel David Cavicke and privacy advocate Marc Rotenberg have joined The Progress & Freedom Foundation Congressional Seminar, "Data Security and Privacy Protection: What is the Public Sector's Role?" Cavicke and Rotenberg join a panel including FTC veterans Orson Swindle, Howard Beales and Paul Rubin, moderated by PFF Senior Fellow and Vice President for Research Tom Lenard. The seminar Friday, July 22 comes as both the House and Senate are moving aggressively on data security and privacy legislation in the wake of accounts of data security breaches.

The Congressional Seminar will run from noon to 2 p.m. in Room B-369 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Lunch will be served. Those wishing to attend may register online. Media questions should be directed to Patrick Ross at 202-289-8928 or pross@pff.org. Other questions should be directed to Andrea Knutsen at 202-289-8928 or aknutsen@pff.org.

Cavicke is Chief Counsel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Key members of the House Commerce Committee have been drafting data security legislation that could be introduced and possibly marked up this week. Several senators already have introduced their own data security legislation, and that is expected to be marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee this Thursday, July 21st.

Rotenberg is Executive Director of EPIC and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He is co-author (with Daniel J. Solove) of Information Privacy Law and previously served as Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Congress and the states are moving rapidly to enact new legislation in the wake of a series of high-profile data security breaches by both private and public institutions, Lenard and Rubin write in a PFF Progress on Point titled "An Economic Analysis of Notification Requirements for Data Security Breaches." The paper examines a number of interrelated issues concerning whether a notification requirement would be in the best interests of consumers and what form it should take, and will be released Wednesday, July 20th, in advance of the July 22 Congressional Seminar.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.