Information: Privacy, Property & Policy

Should the government protect consumer privacy through Internet regulations and lawsuits? Can a business use a database as security for a loan? How far should banks, schools or businesses go to protect sensitive information stored on their networks?

Those are among the issues to be explored at the conference “Information: Privacy, Property and Policy,” scheduled for Thursday and Friday, June 7-8, at the DoubleTree Hotel, Portland.

The Technology Law Center of the University of Maine School of Law, Portland, designed the conference for lawyers, academics, businesspeople and consumers who are interested in exploring the issues confronting the online collection and use of sensitive data. "Online privacy has become a critical issue for businesses and consumers, as well as their legal counsel,” said J. Trevor Hughes, director of privacy and corporate counsel for Engage, a firm based in Andover, Mass. “I was delighted to see this conference hosted by the University of Maine School of Law because it brings some of the leading voices in Internet privacy to New England and offers a great opportunity for lawyers and business persons to understand the current legal landscape for online data collection."

The Technology Law Center was established last year as part of the state of Maine’s initiative to support research and development. For more information, call 780-4355 or check out the center’s Web site at <www.tlc.usm.maine.edu>.

Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an advocate for more individual control over personal information, will help lead a session on consumer privacy. Christine Varney, a former Federal Trade Commissioner and senior White House advisor, and former Maine Attorney General James Tierney will participate in a panel on Internet privacy law and policies. Boston attorney Warren E. Agin, chair of the American Bar Association’s Electronic Transactions in Bankruptcy Subcommittee, will join Maine Law Professor Lois Lupica for a presentation on the value of database assets in bankruptcy. Maine Law Professor Thomas Ward and M-CAM founder and CEO David Martin will discuss the use of information as assets for financing. Additional sessions are scheduled on intellectual property, network security, and how the online marketing industry views consumer privacy.