Professor Swire is currently on leave from the Ohio State University College of Law and from editorship of the Cyberspace Law Abstracts. He is author of numerous articles on privacy and other topics as well as co-author of None of Your Business: World Data Flows, Electronic Commerce, and the European Privacy Directive, published by the Brookings Institution in 1998.

Professor Swire graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and received his J.D. from the Yale Law School. Many of his writings appear at www.osu.edu/units/law/swire.htm.

Office of Management and Budget Director, Jacob J. Lew announced the creation of a new position, the Chief Counselor for Privacy, to coordinate the federal government's response to privacy issues. He appointed Peter P. Swire, a professor of law at Ohio State University and internationally recognized expert on privacy issues.

Vice President Gore last year called for increased focus on privacy. He proposed an Electronic Bill of Rights, which would see to protect individual privacy on private sector leadership where possible, on legislation when necessary, on responsible government handling of personal information, and on an informed public.

The Vice President said, "Professor Swire will lead our efforts to make our new economy and our newest technology consistent with one of our oldest values - privacy. Specifically, he will move forward on our agenda to protect every American's right to privacy amid the explosive growth in the collection and use of personal records of all kinds."

Professor Swire will serve in OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which oversees implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974. He will coordinate the wide range of federal government agencies in their efforts to shape privacy issues. In addition, he will encourage dialogue with state and local governments, and the private sector to ensure that privacy issues and policies in this emerging field are widely addressed.

Professor Swire recently served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Commerce, assisting in negotiations with the European Union on how new, strict European privacy laws should apply to transfers of personal information in the United States. He is the co-author of None of Your Business: World Data Flows, Electronic Commerce & the Internet Privacy Directive, published in 1998 by the Brookings Institution Press.

In his talk to the Open Group, Professor Swire will present the Administration's views on progress in the Safe Harbor discussions with the European Union concerning flows of personal information under the E.U. Data Protection Directive. He will also discuss privacy on the Internet and other topics concerning privacy and developments in information technology.