[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 12 (Thursday, January 27, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S333-S334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            DATA PRIVACY DAY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I join privacy advocates, industry leaders 
and government officials from across our Nation in celebrating Data 
Privacy Day 2011--a day to raise awareness about data privacy practices 
and rights.
  Today, Americans from all walks of life reap the countless benefits 
of the Internet and the latest technological advances. But, with these 
many rewards, comes growing uncertainty and unease about how sensitive 
personal information is collected, shared and stored.
  In the digital age, our Nation faces the difficult challenge of 
protecting our computer networks from cyber threats. At the same time, 
we must encourage American innovation and respect privacy rights.
  Data Privacy Day provides an important opportunity to remind all 
Americans about how essential privacy is to our daily lives. This day 
is also a time for us in Congress to remember the important work that 
we must complete to better protect digital privacy rights. As the 
chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will continue to do my 
part.
  This year, I will continue--and hopefully complete--work on 
bipartisan data privacy legislation that will better protect Americans' 
sensitive personal data and reduce the risk of data security breaches. 
The Senate Judiciary Committee has favorably reported my Personal Data 
Privacy and Security Act three times. We must finish this pressing work 
during the 112th Congress and finally enact comprehensive data privacy 
legislation.
  I will also continue the important work that the Judiciary Committee 
began during the last Congress to update the Electronic Communications 
Privacy Act, ECPA, so that our digital privacy laws keep pace with the 
information age. When I first wrote ECPA in the mid-1980s, no one could 
have imagined the technological advances and threats to digital privacy 
that we see today. Updating this law to reflect the realities of our 
time is essential to keeping us safe from cyber threats and critical to 
ensuring that our Federal privacy laws keep pace with advancing

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technologies. The year ahead will also present opportunities to study 
emerging privacy issues, such as the use of full body scanners at our 
airports and threats to online privacy.
  The 112th Congress affords all of us in Congress an opportunity to 
make sure that this universal right to be left alone remains viable in 
the digital age.
  I commend the many stakeholders and leaders from across the Nation 
who are holding events to commemorate Data Privacy Day. I look forward 
to working with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, and in 
both Chambers, on legislation to better protect the privacy rights of 
all Americans.

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