FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Morrie Goodman, 202-482-4883 or
Pat Kirwan/Curt Cultice, 202-482-3809
January 4, 2000
Taking
Care of E-Business: Commerce Secretary Mineta Announces
Seminars
to Help Tap Opportunities Under Safe Harbor
Washington--Secretary of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta is
taking a further step towards maximizing the full potential of
transatlantic e-commerce trade by announcing a series of nationwide
seminars to educate U.S. organizations on the safe harbor privacy
framework.
"It is important for U.S. organizations that deal with European
countries to understand and develop a strategy for working with
European privacy laws," Mineta stated today. "The safe harbor
arrangement provides a bridge between the U.S. and Europeans approaches
to privacy protection and is a cost effective way for U.S. organizations
to comply with European privacy laws."
The domestic seminar series will be co-sponsored by the Software
& Information Industry Association, the United States Council
for International Business, and Morrison and Foerster.
At the seminars, private sector and U.S. Government experts will
talk about how companies should develop privacy policies, how
the safe harbor framework fits within those policies, and how
companies can sign on to the safe harbor.
The first seminar is scheduled for January 25 in Palo Alto, followed
by seminars on February 7 in New York and on February 14 in Dallas.
The Department is also working with the National Association of
Manufacturers and the European-America Business Council to hold
additional events.
The safe harbor framework was developed by the Department of
Commerce, in consultation with the European Commission, industry
and non-governmental organizations, in order to provide U.S. organizations
with a practical means of satisfying the "adequacy" requirement
under the European Directive on Data Protection.
The safe harbor was officially recognized by the EU this past
summer as a basis of protecting European citizens' privacy. Organizations
interested in finding out more can go to the safe harbor website
at www.export.gov/safeharbor.
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