Professor Peter Swire wrote a column for Wired magazine regarding the national controversy around the "do not track" debates. "Without effective targeting and tracking, ad revenue could plummet and lead to the shuttering of many popular websites that rely on third party ads as their primary source of revenue. Those who buy and sell behavioral advertising and retargeting point out that advertising revenue supports the diverse array of free content available on the internet," he wrote.

Professor Peter Swire's column in Wired magazine was cited in an article on AdAge.com about negotiations regarding the Do Not Track efforts. "In a Wired opinion piece published today, Mr. Swire, professor of law at the Moritz College of Law of the Ohio State University, wrote, "A negotiated Do Not Track standard offers the best way to avoid the arms race: It would allow individual users to indicate whether they wish to have personalized ads based on their surfing habits," the article read.

Professor Peter Swire has been named the C. William O’Neill Professor of Law at the Ohio State University, a Senior Fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum and the Center for American Progress, and Policy Fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology, to Enlocked's advisory board, effective immediately, according to the San Fransisco Chronicle.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in the Washington Post regarding Internet privacy and tracking devices built into certain web browsers. “We’re at the risk of an arms race here,” said Swire, a Clinton administration privacy expert who is now an Ohio State University law professor. “This could break the Internet. It interferes with existing browsing models, and it puts bigger pressure on users to take escalating steps to protect their privacy.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article by The Daily Online Examiner about the progress of the "do-not-track" efforts. "There are positive things from Boston," he said. "The tone was professional and positive. At some earlier meetings, there had been personal attacks and a difficult tone. In Boston, people worked hard on the substance, and they did so in a professional way."

 

Professor Peter Swire weighed in on an article in  The Columbus Dispatch about the increase in security cameras and its effect on privacy.

Swire said limits should be put on how lawmakers utilize security cameras. “(It’s) not a good idea to connect all the cameras and let the cops see everyone, everywhere,” he said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in The New York Times regarding Internet security laws. “Now that the election is over, Silicon Valley companies each are thinking through their strategy for the second Obama administration,” said Swire. “The FTC will have a new Democratic chairman. A priority for tech companies will be to discern the new chair’s own priorities.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article by the National Journal regarding his recent appointment as a mediator for the "Do Not Track" discussions. “My first job is to be a good listener,” Swire said in an interview on Tuesday. “There are many different stakeholders. There are quite a few difficult issues but [the goal is] also worth achieving.”

Professor Peter Swire has been appointed to mediate the "Do Not Track" efforts regarding Internet privacy of citizens. He was quoted in an article regarding this matter in the New York Times. “People can choose not to have telemarketers call them during dinner. The simple idea is that users should have a choice over how their Internet browsing works as well,” Mr. Swire said in a phone interview. But he added: “The overarching theme is how to give users choice about their Internet experience while also funding a useful Internet.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article on CNet.com regarding his appointment to mediator of the "Do Not Track" negotiations. "I personally would not like to have an Internet where I believed that each moment of my browsing might easily be breached and shown to the entire world," he told the Senate. "For you and your families, it would reduce the quality of the Internet if you thought that any page you visited needed to be treated like something that might be released to the public."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding his role as mediator of the negotiations on the "Do Not Track" deal. "We’re starting immediately and working intensively during the next couple months,” Mr. Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a New York Times article on needed revisions to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was passed in 1986. “It didn’t take into account what the modern cellphone has — your location, the content of communications that are easily readable, including Facebook posts, chats, texts and all that stuff,” Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in the New York Times about laws regarding searches of cell phones for legal evidence and how much privacy cell phone users have the right to. "It (1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act) didn’t take into account what the modern cellphone has — your location, the content of communications that are easily readable, including Facebook posts, chats, texts and all that stuff,” Mr. Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Corporate Counsel article about the plight of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which was set up to provide a safeguard against overzealous government intrusions on privacy during the fight against terrorism.  After four years, the Senate finally confirmed four board members, but not chairman, who is the only person empowered to hire staff. "Clearly, the board cannot carry out its work as the statute intends if there is no chairman in place," Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Guardian article about gun enthusiasts using 3D printers to be able to manufacturer guns in their homes with no licenses or regulations. The project recently received a grant and the cost of 3D printers has dropped significantly. "What's important here is the ability to turn software into a gun anywhere in the world," said Swire. "I think the big question is how many 3D printers are we going to have? The more 3D printers the more gun factories there are."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Politico article questioning whether the recording of Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney saying that 47 percent of the country won't vote for him because they see themselves as victims and do not pay taxes was obtained illegally.  "I think there are good arguments both ways under the statute. Both sides can write a good brief now," Swire said.
 

Professor Peter Swire wrote a guest blog post for ThinkProgress on whether the secret tape recording of Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney infamous "47 percent" quote was acquired illegally under Florida's wiretap law. In the post, Swire reviews three possible defenses the unknown person who made the tape might have available.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the New York Times in an article focusing on the Obama Administration's lackluster efforts to help homeowners facing foreclosure.  "They were the most experienced financial crisis team that you could have, but when you have economists like Larry Summers working on things — well, Larry Summers is a macroeconomist. He’s not a case worker,” Swire said. 
 

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Legal Times article for his speaking, as part of a panel of lawyers, to Congress August 2 about the undoing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper. Under the ruling, medical information shared by government agencies can’t recover someone’s emotional damages.

"I think emotional harms that are proven to a judge are real harms here, and we should put that back in the law," Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Politco Pro article about the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board being paralyzed and the effect that has on a cybersecurity bill.

"We'll have information sharing, but not the oversight," Swire said. "Depending on the bill, we might repeal privacy protections and have nothing in place to make up for that."

Professor Peter Swire was recognized in an article by The Hill for being a witness at hearing in consideration of updating the 1974 Privacy Act July 31.

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a Law.com article for his testimony regarding consumer internet privacy protection. The article, which focused on the National Association of Attorneys General launching a digital privacy initiative, noted Swire said “self-regulation works best when there is a credible threat that government will step in if industry does not do a good job.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a POLITICO article about Google potentially being fined $22.5 million by the Federal Trade Commision.

“Previously, the consent decrees were mostly promises to be good in the future. Now the FTC has spanked someone,” Swire said.

 

Professor Peter Swire was the focus of a Death and Taxes Magazine article about his testifying in the Senate Commerce Committee’s hearing “The Need for Privacy Protections: Is Industry Self-Regulation Adequate?”

The article suggested Swire’s take was “astonishing” that “if the website and advertisers respected consumers’ desire for a Do Not Track standard, cybersecurity would be put at risk.” It also noted, “It’s a win-win relationship, and Mr. Swire said what both government and business never utter- they are in this together.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a National Journal article which was also published on Nextgov.com. In the article, regarding U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) supporting legislation to restore trust in self-regulating companies to protect online consumer privacy, Swire said, “Industry works a lot harder at this when government is paying attention.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Computerworld article.

In the article, which was about online privacy protection, especially regarding Senator John Rockefeller’s push for legislation on the issue, Swire said of online companies, “The industry works a lot harder at this when government is paying attention."

Professor Peter Swire was noted in The Hill in an article as being scheduled to be a witness in a follow-up hearing June 28 regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s procedure in fining ABC and Fox for broadcasting indecent content.

Professor Peter Swire’s paper From Real-Time Intercepts to Stored Records: Why Encryption Drives the Government to Seek Access to the Cloud was referenced in a FierceGovernmentIT article.

The article, about date encryption and law enforcement, detailed that Swire wrote “major webmail providers such as Gmail and Hotmail now automatically encrypt emails. Law enforcement has traditionally relied on intercepting communications as they transit through a network, but encryption makes that increasingly ineffective.”

Professor Peter Swire’s paper From Real-Time Intercepts to Stored Records: Why Encryption Drives the Government to Seek Access to the Cloud was referenced in a NextGov article.

The article, about web encryptions posing difficulties for law enforcement, quoted from the paper, “Effective encryption is in the midst of becoming the default way that many communications occur on the Internet. … government access to communications thus increasingly relies on a new and limited set of methods, notably featuring access to stored records in the cloud.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Bloomberg Businessweek article about President Barack Obama’s attentiveness toward the U.S. housing crisis.

“Getting the financial system to work was a huge priority,” Swire said of the 2008 financial crisis. “The vote on cram-down happened in that context.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article on MSNBC’s Rock Center. The article is about the fate of online accounts after its administrators die, specifically in the case of the death of Benjamin Strassen and his Facebook account.

“Some evil prankster might pretend that a person is dead and try to take control of the account, so the online companies are understandably careful before they turn over the account to someone who says they run the estate,” Swire said.

The article was also referenced by the Daily Mail.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article by The Marion Star regarding proposed Senate Bill 351, which would make it illegal for employers to view or request passwords for prospective or current employees’ online accounts.

Swire said the bill has the same principle as the federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act. "That's the idea that certain things are private, and you can be a good employee but you don't have to tell your boss what you really think in your heart," Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire weighed in on a Newark Advocate article about Senate Bill 351, which would make it illegal for employers to access employees’ online accounts or interactions, being introduced to the Ohio Statehouse.

"These laws are good," Swire said. "They send a clear signal to employers to keep out of the personal lives of your employees."

Professor Peter Swire was noted by The Hill as being a part of a panel scheduled to examine briefings in the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee’s 2012 Government Policy Series titled “New Internet Privacy Legislation: What the White House, Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission are recommending.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article on JD Supra about file sharing.

The article's headline was inspired by Swire's quote: “File-sharing service providers in the wake of the Mega Upload saga ‘have gone from cool to criminal all at once.’ ”

Professor Peter Swire wrote an article for The Hill about Congress' fast-paced actions toward cybersecurity.

“The cybersecurity bills before Congress are not likely to significantly improve cybersecurity, might actually undermine it while impeding technological innovation and could pose serious threats to long-established privacy and civil-liberty protections,” Swire wrote.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article by ABC News discussing the implications of Google's newly revealed foray into wearable technology, Project Glass. It takes the form of glasses for users to wear and augment reality, such as receiving the weather report by looking toward the sky.

Swire said he is worried about the potential of advertisements embedded into the technology as well as the tracking policies.

 “Advertising won’t skip this platform, but there will be ongoing battles about how pervasive the ads will be and how users will turn them off," Swire said.

“Will Google Glasses use the same all-or-nothing approach?” Swire asked. “We have got ‘Do not Call’ and ‘Do not Track;’ we will see if we get ‘Do not See.’”

The Nation quoted Professor Peter Swire for his time as an economic official to President Barack Obama’s transition team after the inauguration. The article was about the economic team’s approach to the housing crisis.

“Housing was 30 months in the hole when Obama was elected,” Swire said. “The first goal was to stabilize.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by Network World for his speaking on facial recognition as a senior fellow at The Future of Privacy Forum. Swire said, “Constant biometric surveillance such as facial recognition technology may also ‘lead to discrimination.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by Bloomberg News in an article on the topic of Fortress Investment Group LLC taking Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. public.

“The big players are already thinking about the new capital rules kicking in, and that creates an incentive to shrink their market share,” Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the Minneapolis City Pages in an article about a woman who had her driver's license picture accessed more than 425 different times by over 100 law enforcement officers.  Cumulatively, said Swire, who once served as the chief counselor on privacy for the Clinton administration, it amounts to an unprecedented privacy breach. "I've never heard of improper access by this many agencies," he said.

Professor Peter Swire wrote an opinion piece for the Center for American Progress on the importance of a Homeowner Bill of Rights.  "The recent housing downturn revealed how homeowners are systematically disadvantaged by the current system of mortgage finance and are in need of additional rights to be protected from abuses in the servicing of mortgages," Swire wrote. "The homeowner bill of rights provides long overdue protections for homeowners from abuses in the servicing of mortgages and is an important step toward reviving a dormant private mortgage finance industry."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted on CNN in a story about a $25 billion settlement between the country's largest banks and various state attorney general offices. "A lot of families had their homes taken away while they had modifications or were negotiating modifications," said  Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and former Obama housing advisor.

Professor Peter Swire was interviewed by WBAL Radio Baltimore about the federal shutdown of Megaupload prompting other file-sharing sites to cut back on disseminating content that could get them into legal trouble. "With Megaupload, the sites have gone from cool to criminal all at once," Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in by ABC News about how file sharing sites are reacting to the federal shutdown of Megaupload, due in part to proposed anti-piracy laws such as SOPA and PIPA.

“With Megaupload, the sites have gone from cool
to criminal all at once,” Swire said. “Sites thought they were operating a [file sharing] site, now they might be operating a criminal site.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by the magazine Security Management in an article about the European Union's strong customer data privacy protections tripping up U.S. organizations that are noncompliant.

“A ‘we don’t care about privacy’ attitude from the United States creates major risks for U.S. jobs, exports, and businesses,” Swire said at a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. “The lack of U.S. privacy rules can become a powerful excuse for protectionism, risking U.S. jobs and the sales of U.S.-based businesses."

An article by Professor Peter Swire on recommendations to protect home mortgage consumers was referenced in a recent piece by the Center for American Progress examining what policy action is needed to fix problems in the housing market.

"The current system of laws and regulations protect the interests of investors and mortgage servicers before the rights of consumers are ever considered, according to CAP Senior Fellow Peter Swire," writes John Griffith, a research fellow with the housing team at American Progress. "Servicers currently have no fiduciary responsibility to protect consumers from improper acts and omissions by mortgage servicers."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The Columbus Dispatch in an article about a provision in the new federal health-reform law that allows children to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26. While Mom and Dad are footing the bill, it doesn't entitle them to their adult child's medical information.

“Every parent can see the bill ... but parents don’t automatically see the details of an adult child’s medical procedure,” said Swire, author of the 1996 federal medical-privacy law as part of the Clinton administration.

Swire added adult children are liable for any unpaid co-payments or bills for uncovered medical services they received. “Adult children are responsible for their own debt,” he said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by MortgageOrb.com in an article discussing  the alternative compensation models for mortgage servicers the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) is considering.

Swire, a Center for American Progress senior fellow, said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's conservator must focus on the interest of consumers. 

“The new compensation system must provide incentives that protect borrowers during the three decades of the typical home loan,” wrote Peter Swire and Economic Policy analyst Jordan Eizenga.

Professor Peter Swire cowrote a piece for the Center for Democracy & Technology about law enforcement and national security agencies’ concerns over “going dark” if they lose the ability to wiretap and decode new forms of the Internet and other communications.

“This post, however, argues that ‘going dark’ is the wrong image,” writes Swire and coauthor Kenesa Ahmad. “Instead, today should be understood as a ‘golden age of surveillance.’ Compared with earlier periods, surveillance capabilities have greatly expanded.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The Sacramento Bee in an article about homeowners in California keeping their homes through a state program funded by $2 billion in federal stimulus funding. Swire, a former White House advisor to President Barack Obama on loan modifications, said he believes principal reductions are among the best ways to keep distressed borrowers in their homes.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Reuters article about Freddie Mac's loan review process months before the FHFA reached a $1.3 billion settlement with Bank of America over poorly underwritten mortgages. "The report suggests that Freddie Mac did not receive full value," said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by Bloomberg in an article about faulty mortgages and foreclosure abuses costing the nation’s five biggest home lenders at least $65.7 billion or more. The industry-wide errors “were not minor slip-ups,” said Swire, former special assistant to President Barack Obama for economic policy. “Our biggest banks were talking homeowners into taking some of these bad loans at the front end and then dumping fraudulent loans on investors at the back end.”

Professor Peter Swire was interviewed by CBS' The Early Show about privacy issues related to social networking sites and search engines. "There's a lot of tracking of where you surf on the Internet," said Swire, a former Clinton and Obama White House advisor. "Lots of different advertising networks and other people are keeping track of that. There's nothing illegal about it, and that troubles many lawmakers."

In response to tech companies and social networking sites' fears of too much regulation hindering new technology and U.S. advances in the tech curve, Swire said, "The trick is not to legislate around a particular technology, because the technology will be different the next year and the year after that. The trick is to somehow get some basic rules of the road and not to close down particular technologies."

Professor Peter Swire was a guest on the Sept. 11, 2011 edition of "The Spectrum," a weekly political news program on Columbus' NBC4. Swire, a former White House advisor to the Clinton and Obama administrations, was a guest during a roundtable segment on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and what changed for people in the decade following.

Professor Peter Swire penned a guest blog entry for Think Progress about the Federal Housing Finance Agency's filing of lawsuits against banking executives in the wake of fraud in the issuance and sale of mortgage backed securities during the buildup of the housing bubble.

"In response, a columnist for the Motley Fool has called the suits a 'misguided search for vengeance' and 'an unnecessary distraction.' An investment banker told Bloomberg that the government should 'stop punishing banks.' The mortgage fraudsters should get away, they say, because we don't want to shake confidence in the big banks that FHFA says committed massive mortgage fraud," Swire writes.

"But there are so many reasons why the people who perpetrate fraud should pay for it. To pick two often voiced by conservatives, take 'personal responsibility' and 'property rights.' "

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by Reuters in an article about 18 lawsuits by the Federal Housing Finance Agency against banking executives. "Each agency has its own statutory authority, and its own particular evidence," said Swire, former special assistant to the president for economic policy in the Obama administration. "The FHFA is not part of the executive branch. It does not report to the president. If the FHFA finds the right evidence, it decides on its own to move forward."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by Florida Today in an article about how travel, security, and privacy were affected in the decade following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "It's hard to go back because we face asymmetric threats. In the Cold War, the threats came from big nations. 9/11 showed us a small group of terrorists can cause large damage," said Swire, an expert in privacy and cyber security.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The Wall Street Journal in an article about Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Swire, a White House advisor on housing issues as recently as last year, said DeMarco's focus "is on the short-term profits for Fannie and Freddie, not on the health of the housing market, and that is short sighted."

Professor Peter Swire was interviewed by Bloomberg TV's Tom Keene about the Department of Justice's attempted block of AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile.

Professor Peter Swire was interviewed by WKSU 89.7 about an interesting case going before the Ohio Supreme Court. Antoine Duvall's mortgage was sold off to another lender, but the transaction was never documented at the county recorder's office. When Duvall missed payments, the new lender attempted foreclosure. Whether that can actually occur is the issue before the Ohio Supreme Court.

"The homeowner says, 'Show us the note; you don’t have a right to this house; you can’t kick me out of this house.' On the other side, the bank’s view is there’s a homeowner who stopped paying their mortgage. They knew they had a mortgage. They knew it when they bought the house, and they get to laugh and stay in the house while the bank has to come up with paperwork they don’t have," said Swire, a former housing official with the Obama administration.

"If the homeowners win, the banks will have to work harder to prove they have the paperwork. The banks might have to pay some settlement to get the family out of the house. But our system of property will not collapse."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The New York Times in a story about privacy issues surrounding old police mug shots used in art. Two young women in Cincinnati are testing the fringes of Fabulous Fifties nostalgia by selling reproductions of 1955 police mug shots. They have not included identifying information about the subjects, such as their names. Should any of the subjects re-emerge, could they threaten to sue over privacy violation?

Swire said he believed there would be a strong defense. “In terms of public revelation of private fact, they can say they’re not telling the names of anybody, so they’re not harming any individual, and that under the First Amendment they’re allowed to publish truthful old photos,” said Peter Swire, a law and judicial administration professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. “The fact they’re making money doesn’t change the analysis.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The Wall Street Journal in a piece about investors' increasing worries related to the U.S. market for mortgage-backed securities amid speculation that the government will come to the aid of homeowners who have been unable to take advantage of record low interest rates. Swire, a former top White House housing adviser, said administration officials are well aware of such concerns from the financial market. "The administration goal is to return private funding to the housing market, not to cut it off," he said.

Professor Peter Swire's recent congressional testimony was reported in a story by The San Diego Union Tribune about homeowners battling with lenders over forced-placed insurance. Swire testified about his own situation with Washington Mutual over flood insurance and the two years it took for the lender to correct matters. “I actually feel fortunate,” said Swire, a former White House economic advisor. “Most homeowners are not banking law professors. All of those hours sitting on hold waiting for customer service gave me plenty of time to think about the flaws in our mortgage servicing system.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by the Detroit Free Press in an article about the issue of principal reduction on loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Swire, who was President Barack Obama's point person on loan modifications, notes that Edward DeMarco, a Bush administration holdover who runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency, opposes principal reduction. "He has repeatedly stated his job is to maximize profits for Fannie and Freddie," Swire said. "He has been very skeptical of anything that doesn't directly tie into raising revenues" for the mortgage giants.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an American Banker story about ways for disposing of real-estate owned properties held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By renting out REO properties, the government would solve an underlying problem of supply and demand, said Swire, a former Obama administration official. "Many families have taken hits to their credit history and cannot qualify for today's mortgage requirements, so there is less demand to buy homes," he said. "And we need more affordable rentals."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The Boston Globe in an article about AT&T changing the default method by which cellular customers check their voice mail, after reports that the company’s policies made messages more vulnerable to hackers than on other cellphone carriers. A specialist in telecommunications privacy issues, Swire said that Americans had paid little attention to the menace of voice mail hacking, until the surfacing of news reports about British journalists working for newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. breaking into celebrities and crime victims' voice mail systems. “It taught people in England that voice mail was being hacked at a high rate," said Swire. “I think AT&T saw the Murdoch problems and they saw how easy it was to break into their system."

Professor Peter Swire's testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs was reported on by National Mortgage Professional Magazine. Swire shared a personal encounter dealing with mortgage servicers in a dispute with Washington Mutual in 2006 and 2007 regarding flood insurance on his family’s home in Bethesda, Md. His situation "vividly shows the cascade of mistakes that the servicing company made, despite several dozen calls by me to the company and detailed documentation," he stated.

Professor Peter Swire co-authored an op-ed piece in The Hill, highlighting how vulnerable Americans are to the kind of voicemail hacking at the center of Rupert Murdoch's News International scandal. "Here in the United States, our voicemail systems have different yet easy-to-exploit security flaws. U.S. carriers do require their customers to establish PINs to authenticate access to voicemail services. Several companies, though, do not require users to enter their PINs when they are calling from their own telephone numbers. This feature saves consumers time  and reduces the number of tech support calls when consumers have forgotten their PINs."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in The New York Times about the foreclosure crisis. “Countrywide made a lot of bad loans and borrowers with no money can’t afford a modification,” said Peter Swire, a former special assistant for housing policy in the Obama administration who helped oversee earlier federal efforts to promote modifications. He is now a professor at Ohio State University. “One discouraging problem is that only a small fraction of Countrywide borrowers will likely qualify,” Professor Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about reviving the housing market. "As conditions change, some options that were below the line the way the market was 18 months ago might be above the line today," said Peter P. Swire, who teaches law at Ohio State University and until last year was a top housing adviser to the White House.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in Science Progress about Congress' attempt to regulate the internet.  Swire, a professor of law at Ohio State Law School and a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, discussed the importance of finding the right balance between consumer choice and industry expense. “I have a slightly more optimistic view,” said Swire, who noted that other privacy issues have been successfully solved in the past through legislation like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA; the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act, or CAN-SPAM; and other initiatives. “We have found ways to manage them through technology, self regulation and legislation,” said Swire.

Professor Peter Swire wrote an op-ed in The Hill entitled Why Privacy Legislation is Hot Now. Swire argued the time is right for major privacy legislation to be debated and passed because: 1) the use of location data by smartphones and other devices; 2) the increased use of social networking; and 3) the invention of more complex online behavioral advertising.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an article in Investment News about retirement plan sponsors sending information electronically to participants automatically. “Participants get notices that do more for them,” said Peter Swire, a professor of law at Ohio State University and co-author of the report. “They can access information anytime, anywhere and with any device.” Information distributed electronically also can be “layered,” according to Mr. Swire. For instance, it can come with a simple notice “on top” and then offer a way to “click through” for more details. “Participants can drill down at will,” Mr. Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an Associated Press article regarding a computer rental chain that tracked keystrokes, took screenshots, and snapped webcam pictures of renters. "Kill switch" software on the computer allows the rental company or police to shut down the unit if it is stolen. Using such "kill switch" software is legal because companies can protect themselves from fraud and other crimes, said Peter Swire, a professor at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law. "Owners can protect their property," Swire said. "Rental cars often have a GPS on them so you can't drive off with them. Computers are pretty easy to move around. So if I rent you a computer, I'd like to get it back." But in the case of the Wyoming couple, the actions allegedly took place "after they owned the computer," Swire said. "Once they own it, the kill switch shouldn't be operated." More important, grabbing data from someone's computer, whether it is keystrokes or photographs, "likely violates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which has civil and criminal penalties," Swire said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the Las Vegas Review-Journal about mortgage administrators who purchase extra insurance policies without the consent of the owner.  "At one point I had three different flood-insurance policies in place that I didn't need. Each time the problem was resolved, the whole cycle started over again," Swire said, using his own experience as an example.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article about the banking industry's tactic called "dual tracking," in which a bank continues foreclosure proceedings on a homeowner seeking a loan modification.  "The biggest problem is that a majority of the modifications today are proprietary, The banks are not on the hook for their non-HAMP modifications,"  Swire, who is  a former economic advisor to President Barack Obama specializing in housing issues, said in the article.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Bloomberg News Service article about the recently  foreclosure-abuse settlements that require major banks to review all foreclosures that took place in 2009 and 2010.  “The regulators’ settlement lets the banks’ defenders say that anything else is piling on,” Swire said in the article.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights, an online privacy bill that was recently introduced in Congress.  "This is not a fringe issue. There's bipartisan support from national leaders to do something here," Swire said in the article.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the publication Cyber Media about cyber crime. Peter Swire, professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State Univiersity, emphasised the vital role of data encryption in safeguarding the digital economy. Strong encryption is feasible and is the correct answer as fast innovations take place, said Swire, who was earlier a special assistant to President Barack Obama.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the San Jose Mercury News in an article about the Obama Administration's efforts to help struggling homeowners facing foreclosure. The article found the program has not helped nearly as many homeowners are originally predicted. "I wish the 3-4 million had never been uttered," said Peter Swire, a former special assistant to Obama for economic policy.

Professor Peter Swire was cited in the National Journal regarding the Bush administration's attempt at making the effects of the Patriot Act permanent. "Critics, including Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University who is the Section 215 critic on PatriotDebates.com, also make a strong case that a gag-order provision in Section 215 is unduly sweeping," according to the article.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Los Angeles Times story about the errors that mortgage companies makes. The story states: “‘Homeowners need some market or legal check against mistakes and abuses’ by loan servicers, said Swire, who left the White House in August after serving for 18 months as special assistant to the president for economic policy. ‘I'm not saying servicers don't care. The point is, there is a lack of incentives for servicers to care.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in Marketplace segment about the Obama administration’s plan to settle mortgage-servicing breakdowns that involved practices like robo-signing foreclosure documents. Swire states: “‘It's a good step for the banks because they'll try to put the mess behind them from robo-signing. It's a good deal for consumers and for the housing market, because it can make money available to try to fix some of the problems we're facing.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a paidContent.org story about the ‘Do Not Track’ privacy proposal. The story states: “‘It’s a word that puts advertisers in particular on the defensive,’ said Peter Swire, who took the position of privacy chief in 1999 under President Bill Clinton, and who was speaking at the same event. And it’s so short it fits perfectly into newspaper headlines—so short and useful that it’s tough to think of another phrase to replace it. ‘Reporters are stuck with the phrase,’ said Swire.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a New York Times story about the Obama administrations plans for replacing the two housing finance companies. The story states: “‘Industry-defining legislation often takes more than one Congress to pass,’ said Peter Swire, who served until August as a special assistant to President Obama on housing finance issues. ‘I think everyone wants a bigger role for private-sector housing finance going forward, and how to do that transition is just a big job.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Washington Post story about the Obama administration recommending reducing the size of mortgages eligible for government backing. The story states: “‘My reading of history is when the housing system is tanking in any major economy, governments have intervened,’ said Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University. ‘We'll get all of the problems of an eventual government rescue without the safeguards.’”

Professor Peter Swire recently ran a panel in Washington, D.C., about online privacy on a segment of CSPAN. Professor Swire states: “The reason the panel is happening is that privacy, once again, is a hot topic. It’s on the front pages of the newspapers. Many of you might have read part of the Wall Street Journal series about new tracking devices that happen online. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce both have reports out for comment. Comments are due by the end of January, so people are busy around town trying to figure out what to say about privacy for that reason.”

Professor Peter Swire was a guest on MSNBC regarding Facebook’s presence in Washington. Swire said: “Clearly a lot of people like to use Facebook, but people also worry about privacy, and so there’s been proposals in Congress to pass legislation about privacy and there’s also been action from the administration and the Federal Trade commission to talk about these issues.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted by The Columbus Dispatch in an article about the provision of the new federal health-reform that allows adult children to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26. Just because parents pay the bill, though, does not entitle them to access to their adult child's medical information.

“Every parent can see the bill ... but parents don’t automatically see the details of an adult child’s medical procedure,” said Swire, author of the 1996 federal medical-privacy law as part of the Clinton administration.

Swire added that adult children are liable for any unpaid co-payments or bills for uncovered medical services they received. “Adult children are responsible for their own debt,” he said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Reuters story regarding a report issued by the Department of Commerce on Internet privacy. The story states: “Privacy expert Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University, applauded the report. ‘For the past decade, the executive branch has lacked a visible leader on Internet privacy. The many changes in the Internet and commercial practices in the past decade mean it is high time to have this sort of leadership position,’ he said."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a National Journal story about a Department of Commerce report issued regarding Internet privacy. The story states: “However, Ohio State University law professor Peter Swire, who served as a privacy adviser to President Bill Clinton, praised the report's call for a privacy office at Commerce, saying ‘it makes sense to put commercial privacy policy in the Department of Commerce. It provides a visible point of contact for privacy policy in the Executive Branch.’”

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a Lakeland Times story about the increasing availability of high-speed Internet access in the Northwoods. The story states: “A post on the White House website by Peter Swire, special assistant to the president for economic policy, states: ‘A big focus of the new awards is on the 'middle mile'-the infrastructure that connects the Internet backbone to communities across the nation. Our grants help build middle-mile infrastructure to under-served communities. We make it easy to connect 'anchor institutions' such as schools, libraries, and medical centers. The middle mile investments, like the regional networks that filled in the Internet, set the stage for private investors to finish the job, with the so-called 'last-mile' connections to homes and businesses.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Wall Street Journal blog post about the Federal Housing Administration avoiding the need for a taxpayer bailout. The story states: “‘The report understates the true improvement to date in FHA’s outlook,’ said Peter Swire, a former White House housing adviser who teaches law at Ohio State University.”

Professor Peter Swire was recently quoted in a New York Times story about the foreclosure documentation crisis and the severe consequences it could have on the housing market and economy. The story states: “‘The bankers face a potentially difficult situation,’ said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State who stepped down last summer as an Obama administration official. ‘If they provide details, lots of them won’t be pretty. If they don’t provide details, it may look like they’re stonewalling.’”

Professor Peter Swire recently participated in a radio segment of the Global Journalist about privacy in the age of online social networking. The story states: “Peter Swire, law professor, Ohio State University, Columbus: ‘The Federal Trade Commission is called an “independent agency,” so they don’t get involved in the inter-agency thing quite as much. It is a very normal part of the federal government for the different parts of the federal government to have an inter-agency process, for the president and his advisors to have some take on this and to have the Federal Trade Commission do enforcement.’”

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal story about the preparation of a stepped-up approach to policing Internet privacy by the Obama administration. The story states: “In 1999 President Bill Clinton appointed Peter Swire as chief counselor for privacy in the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Swire helped craft privacy guidelines for the use of consumer medical and financial data. The new office would be similar but have more resources, and would engage other countries in privacy discussions and negotiations.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a CNNMoney.com story about what Tuesday’s election means for the nation’s home foreclosures. The story states: “‘After [Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller], Cordray was the single most visible attorney general in this effort,’ said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State and former special assistant for economic policy at the White House.”

Professor Peter Swire was recently quoted in a Wall Street Journal story about how the housing crisis will affect bank executives. The story states: “Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and a former special assistant to the president for economic policy, said most servicers still fail to recognize that problems with foreclosure documentation have risen to the level of being a ‘material weakness.’” (Subscription required).

Professor Peter Swire was a featured guest on America Public Media’s “Marketplace” regarding the current state of mortgage foreclosures in the United States. Swire said: “We're going to find out where there is problems, where there’s not problems. I hope where there's not problems we can start to signal to people, ‘look, we've actually looked under this rock and it's O.K.’ There's going to be some other things where there are going to be problems -- some of it's going to be house by house. Is this house subject to a good mortgage or not? There's no replacement for that when you're talking about one family's real property.”

Professor Peter Swire was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal in a story about a proposal he has written that asks bank officers to vouch for the quality of their mortgage-documentation operations. The story states: “’When there’s a lot of uncertainty and one party knows more than the others, that party is probably the best one to take on the risk,’ said Mr. Swire, in an interview. ‘Banks probably know more than anyone else about what the risks are; they are the best insurers here against this risk.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Financial Times story about the foreclosure crisis and its position on President Obama’s priority list. The story states: “‘The administration is showing its serious concern about these practices, but addressing the bad actors and fixing the problem is separate from whether a moratorium makes sense,’ said Peter Swire, a fellow at the Center for American Progress and former official on Barack Obama’s National Economic Council.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an American Banker story regarding the foreclosure crisis. The story states: “Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and a former special assistant to the president for economic policy, said most servicers still fail to recognize that problems with foreclosure documentation have risen to the level of being a ‘material weakness.’ ‘If you knew that your company was making many misrepresentations to judges that could put many foreclosures at risk, that would be a question as to whether it was material,’ Swire said. ‘An executive who is supposed to know what is going on should have realized that.’”

Professor Peter Swire was recently quoted in an Associated Press story about forty states preparing to launch a joint investigation into the mortgage industry. The story states: “‘The behavior already on the record involves thousands of false statements to judges,’ said Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor who recently left the White House economic policy staff. ‘That's a weak hand for the banks.’’

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Wall Street Journal story about uncertainty in the market of foreclosed homes. The story states: “‘Title-insurance costs can go up, purchasers can flee from auctions, and new home-buying families will decide to wait longer before re-entering the market,’ said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University who until August served as a top adviser on housing-finance issues in the White House.”

Professor Peter Swire was featured in a brief printed in The National Jurist regarding his appointment as special assistant to the president for economic policy. The story began: "Peter Swire, the C. William O'Neill Professor in Law and Judicial Administration at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, took a leave to serve in the White House under President Barack Obama."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a New York Times article regarding Carnegie Mellon University research that found the nations Social Security numbering system has left millions of people vulnerable to privacy breaches.  The story states:  " 'This report is a wake-up call,' said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University who served as the Clinton administration’s chief privacy counselor. 'Social Security numbers are an aging technology, and we have to do serious planning for what will come next.' "

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Washington Post article after researchers prove that an individual’s Social Security number can be guessed. The story states: “ ‘We can't pretend anymore that SSNs can be kept secret,’ said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and chief counselor for privacy during the Clinton administration. ‘This report puts a nail in that coffin. We'll need new approaches, and it will cost money for the government and the private sector to build the new approaches.’ ”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Cincinnati Enquirer article on identity theft problems local businesses are facing in cyberspace. The story states: “ ‘Impersonating others for financial gain is “as old as The Bible,”’ says Peter Swire, a professor at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law who's internationally recognized as an expert in fields of privacy and cyberspace.”

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a Washington Post story about a panel he participated in regarding new tools on diplomacy. The story stated: “While the Obama administration made a name for itself by infusing those tools into the presidential campaign, infusing the White House with the Web 2.0 culture isn't an easy transition. For one, new media staffs are smaller, Swire said.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a New York Times story regarding research he has done involving government and online transparency and social networking sites. The story states: “That’s the conclusion of Peter Swire, who was a lawyer for the new media team of the Obama transition leading up to Inauguration Day. He had also worked as the top privacy officer the Clinton Administration. He’s now returned to his job as a law professor at Ohio State University and as a fellow with the Center for American Progress.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a PC World story about a U.S. panel that calls for new rules in protecting personal data. The story states: “The law is ‘stupid and way too narrow,’ said Peter Swire, former chief privacy counselor in President Bill Clinton's administration. ‘It's really out of touch with the way modern computers work.’”

Professor Peter Swire was a guest on CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report” where he discussed whether the U.S. government should control the salaries of bank executives. “I support it,” he said. “It’s going to lead us right back to the system that we have had for over a hundred years. This is a common sense thing that has been in existence as long as we have had safety and soundness regulation for the banking system.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Business Week story about the Obama Administration and antitrust. The story states: “Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor, notes that, when asked where businesses, consumers and lawyers should look for guidance, Varney pointed to long-established case law: the 1951 case Lorain Journal Co. v. United States, in which the Supreme Court said a monopoly newspaper couldn’t reject all ads from companies that advertised on a rival radio station; a 1985 decision in which the court said one Aspen ski resort could be blocked from ending a joint marketing campaign because the move harmed a rival and didn’t help consumers; and United States v. Microsoft, which the Bush Administration settled in September 2001, after a U.S. district-court judge said the company unfairly exploited its market dominance by bundling its Web browser with its operating system.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a New York Times blog regarding President Obama’s use of social networking sites. The story states: “Peter Swire, an Ohio State law professor who was the top White House privacy official in the Clinton Administration (a position the Obama administration has yet to fill), said they fought extending the Privacy Act out of fear that it would make it routine activities difficult. ‘The question is how much an ordinary purchase in the private sector, such as a list of phone numbers, would trigger Privacy Act limits,’ he said. Mr. Swire added, however, that the administration can act even before Congress does.”

Professor Peter Swire was featured on a WBNS 10TV story about a woman who had purchased a used laptop that had wiretapping software installed on it. The story stated: “Ohio State University professor Peter Swire is a privacy expert.  He compared Absolute's methods to a wiretap. ‘Absolute Software is running a big legal risk if it keeps wiretapping computers after it leaves the original owner,’ Swire said.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a European Voice story about a European commission that hopes to receive advice on Internet privacy. The story states: “Peter Swire, professor at Ohio State University and former privacy counsel in the US administration of Bill Clinton, said the non-price aspects of competition had to be taken into account when it came to the internet. People did not choose a search engine based on prices but on such variables as its effectiveness, its content and its privacy policy. ‘Where mergers or dominant firm behaviour create significant effects on customers, including their use of customer data, then those effects should be considered under antitrust law,’ he said.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a the.Parliment.com story about a Brussels conference that discussed privacy concerns. The story stated: “Delivering the keynote address, professor Peter Swire of Ohio State University, a former privacy counsel in president Bill Clinton’s administration, said, ‘Where mergers or dominant firm behaviour create significant effects on customers, including in their use of customer data, then those effects should be considered under antitrust law.’”

A posting co-authored by Professor Peter Swire was picked up by a Wired.com story about President Obama’s stance on searching cell phone records. The story states: “‘Cellular providers could, if they wanted, keep track of your cell phone's location every seven seconds,’ the scholars wrote, ‘because your phone 'registers' that often with the nearest tower.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a New York Times blog story about privacy issues relating to computers and Internet of government officials. The story states: “Peter Swire, a former government privacy official who now teaches law at Ohio State University, raised another question: anti-corruption law prevents federal officials from receiving gifts of goods and services. Does that prevent an agency from using software or services available free on the Web?”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Columbus Dispatch story about TSA monitoring fliers’ behavior. The story stated: “Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor and privacy adviser to the Clinton administration, said he's skeptical of behavior detection. ‘This is an unproven technique,’ Swire said. ‘It can easily tip over into unjustified racial profiling.’”

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a San Francisco Chronicle story about an organization he is serving on that hopes to influence the country’s privacy policies. The story states: “The group also is seeking funding from other companies and has a 23-member advisory board that includes people from Facebook, LexisNexis and advocacy groups such as the Center for Democracy and Technology. A professor and privacy adviser to former President Bill Clinton, Peter Swire, who also is advising President-elect Barack Obama, is on the board as well.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Bureau of National Affairs story about the differences in John McCain and Barack Obama’s policies over data protection. The story states: “In examining ‘the policies that have been adopted by the candidates, I've been unable to find anything on the surveillance side where Sen. McCain has disagreed with President Bush,’ said Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and a former chief privacy counselor for the Clinton administration. ‘On this, it's 100 percent.’”

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a Los Angeles Times story about the Chinese version of Skype, which reportedly spies on text messages. The story states: “Peter Swire, who served as the Clinton administration's privacy czar for two years and is a professor of law at Ohio State University, said that although he knew of no U.S. court ruling that had required Skype to comply with wiretapping requests, it was conceivable the company was voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an Information Week story about a Department of Homeland Security warning for international business and government travelers. The department warned such travelers to not carry laptops and electronic devices abroad. The story state: “Peter P. Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, says travelers ought to take such warnings seriously and practice good computer hygiene. ‘Don't expose your laptop to viruses and Internet cafes,’ he said. ‘Don't put your memory stick into any receptacle where it doesn't belong.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Bureau of National Affairs report about concerns on both sides of Internet privacy issues. The main issues is balancing the privacy rights of the user and the need to obtain information for law enforcement purposes. The story states: “‘The problem is, both sides think the sky is falling, and in some senses, they are both right,’ Peter Swire, professor of law at Ohio State University Moritz School of Law, said. The challenge lies in crafting workable solutions that address both concerns, he said.”

Professor Peter Swire was interviewed for a story on NPR’s Day to Day program. The story was about 11 men who were charged by federal prosecutors for stealing more than 40 million credit card numbers for various U.S. retailers.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted on a Salon.com story regarding Department of Homeland Security policies on confiscating and searching laptops of foreign travelers. The story stated: “Swire notes that agents at the border are going further than just taking image copies of people's hard drives. They're actually demanding passwords and encryption keys so they can examine the contents.”

Swire was mentioned in a similar blog post on dailykos.com. He was also featured on Aug. 4 in a radio interview on KPSI in Palm Springs, Calif., and also on an XM radio talk show.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Gannett News Service story that ran in several newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal. The story was about the Department of Homeland Security’s new policies for searching and seizing U.S. travelers’ electronic devices. "The policy only stops the dumb terrorists, because anyone can cross the border with a clean laptop," said Peter Swire, law professor at Ohio State University. "We shouldn't have intrusive searches that aren't even effective."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a story on TPMmuckraker.com regarding whether third-party groups should be allowed to file legal arguments in response to a recently created U.S. wiretapping law. "The DOJ is taking an expansive view of executive power and narrow view of judicial power, Swire told TPMmuckraker in an interview today. "Under the government's view, the judges seem required to uphold an unconstitutional system because the judges are forbidden from getting briefing from anyone other than the executive branch."

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in two BNA stories following a Homeland Security workshop that he participated in. The workshop involved discussions regarding governmental data mining and its privacy concerns. One story stated: “Peter Swire, a professor at the Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University, said that while the public may be most concerned with what the consequences are of government action based on a data mining analysis, the three stages of the process are interconnected to such a degree that all must be considered to adequately protect privacy.”

Here is the link to the other story:
DHS Data Mining Privacy Panel Focuses On Common Issues, Path to Consensus

Professor Peter Swire was quoted on a WeeklyDig.com news story about a bill that would regulate web advertisers who track internet user activity and market products accordingly. The story states: “Peter Swire, law professor at Ohio State University and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, agrees that internet companies have historically vied for consumers with a focus on user privacy. But, he adds, ‘if we have mergers, if there's fewer people playing in the search market, that might affect how much they compete on privacy.’”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor regarding the Department of Homeland Security seizing some international traveler’s computers at the border. “A laptop can hold [the equivalent of] a major university’s library: It can contain your full life,” says Peter Swire, a professor of law at Ohio State University in Columbus. “The government’s never gotten to search your entire life, so this is unprecedented in scale what the government can get.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the Transnational newsletter about international travelers who may face seizure of their laptops and other electronic devices. The story states: “Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and a former chief counselor for privacy in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, told senators that ‘prudent businesses will increasingly have to resort to costly supplementary measures to ensure that important business information will make it past the border each and every time.’”

Peter Swire was quoted in a story in the South Florida Business Journal about DHL’s intention of changing its domestic air freight from a Miami-based company to UPS. The story states: “Peter Swire, who teaches antitrust law at Ohio State University, would not offer an opinion on the legality of the DHL-UPS deal, but said ‘it's an uphill battle to convince the current Justice Department to bring this sort of enforcement action.’”
(Subscription required)

Professor Peter Swire was featured on a WHYY Radio program, Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, regarding a discussion on theDepartment of Homeland Security and its attempts to get states to adopt the Real ID, a more secure driver's license. The DHS says it is an important security measure. Professor Swire joined Janice Kephart, founder of 9/11 Security Solutions on the hour-long program.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a San Francisco Bay Guardian Online story about pharmacies selling pharmaceutical companies personal medical information. “But according to Peter Swire, who was Clinton's chief privacy counselor and helped draft the legislation, the law permits pharmacies to contract with outside firms to engage in reminder campaigns. As originally drafted, the law included an opt-out. But the George W. Bush administration ditched it in 2002, weakening the law. Swire said Calderon's bill appeared to be an attempt to "shift California law to the federal standards."

Professor Peter Swire was interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered for a story about whether employers have the right to read text messages sent by employees even if the employer is paying for the service. “A lot of people now have cell phones that are web-enabled and those are your own thing and now if you are doing your personal business that is your personal time. It is a big step safer if you use your personal equipment and not your company-provided equipment,” he said.

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in New York Sun and Los Angeles Times articles after testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing discussed the government’s practice of searching laptop computers of those people returning to the United States from an international trip. The story states: “Mr. Swire said he believes anger over the government's refusal to explain its policies and rules for such searches is likely to grow. "'This issue may be a lot hotter issue than people realize. It may mobilize the reserve army of outraged techies," the lawyer said.'”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a govexec.com story regarding an upcoming Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s practice of seizing laptops at the border. The story states: “Peter Swire, a professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University who served for two years as chief counselor for privacy under President Bill Clinton, also is concerned about the privacy implications of the ruling. ‘Opening my suitcase at the border is not the same as opening my laptop and making a permanent record of everything in it,’ he said.”

Professor Swire was quoted in a Bureau of National Affairs news story regarding witness testimony he presented at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The story stated: “Peter P. Swire, professor of law, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University, and former privacy advisor in the Clinton White House, emphasized that the federal government has made progress in the post-Sept. 11 world when it comes to engaging in more effective governmentwide information sharing by breaking down agency-by-agency differences in information sharing. However, there has not been concurrent progress in coming up with a governmentwide approach to ensuring the privacy of personal information, Swire said.”
(Subscription required.)

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in an IDG News Service and other stories after testifying before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. The story stated: “Swire also raised concerns that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasingly relying on biometric data such as fingerprints. DHS has promoted the infallibility of fingerprints, but it's easy to find descriptions online on how to forge them, Swire said. He called on DHS and other agencies to encrypt fingerprint and other biometric data in nearly all circumstances. ‘If you lose your fingerprint, it's hard to get a new finger,’ Swire said.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in a story about Internet users’ privacy. The story states: “Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor who served as privacy czar in the Clinton administration, and Annie Anton, an associate professor of software engineering at North Carolina State University, highlighted the issue last week in a filing to the FTC. They encouraged the agency to create a public ‘white list’ of allowable opt-out cookies, maintained by the government or a private-sector organization. ‘The FTC can shine a spotlight on this problem,’ Swire said in an interview.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a story on investmentnews.com about a proposed new exception to a privacy regulation. The story states: “While the intended objective of the proposal is beyond question, its legal basis is highly questionable. ‘The statute only allows transfer of the customer's personal information, including contact information, after the consumer has the chance to opt out,’ said Peter P. Swire, a law professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University in Columbus and a former White House representative in the original Reg S-P working group.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a WBNS-10TV, Columbus, story regarding information being stolen from computers connected to a Internet “hot spot.” The story states: “Ohio State University law professor and privacy expert Peter Swire said that looking at someone's information on a free, public Web site is OK but stealing that information is where the crime starts. ‘Once you've set up the password - once you've tried to encrypt it - if the bad guys come and try to break it, that violates what's called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18USC1030 - and that's a hack attack,’ Swire said.”

Professor Peter Swire was mentioned in a Washington Post column regarding Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff proposing sharing air travelers’ fingerprints with other nations. The story states: “‘Well, first of all, a fingerprint is hardly personal data because you leave it on glasses and silverware and articles all over the world. They're like footprints. They're not particularly private,’ he said, according to Canadian news reports and privacy lawyer Peter Swire, a senior fellow and guest blogger at the Center for American Progress.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in a Las Vegas Sun feature story about Nevada’s attorney general. “The state attorneys general have broad powers to oppose unfair and deceptive trade practices,” said Peter Swire, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a law professor at Ohio State University. “That gives an attorney general latitude to test what seems unfair.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted in Los Angeles Times story about online advertising and the information these advertising companies collect about consumers. The story states: "Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor who served as privacy czar in the Clinton administration, and Annie Anton, an associate professor of software engineering at North Carolina State University, highlighted the issue last week in a filing to the FTC. They encouraged the agency to create a public "white list" of allowable opt-out cookies, maintained by the government or a private-sector organization. ‘The FTC can shine a spotlight on this problem,’ Swire said in an interview.”

Professor Peter Swire was quoted on a www.news.com story about advocacy groups trying to find ways to limit online advertisers’ ability to target consumers. Technology that would allow Internet users to “opt-out” of the solicitation is far from perfect, the story states. “Without a better way to get around those shortcomings, ‘we have...consumers and the FTC and industry agreeing on consumer choice and then no way to technically get there,’ said Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor and a former lead privacy counselor in the Clinton White House.”