Obama nominated David Medine as chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and Rachel Brand and Patricia Wald as board members, according to a blog by White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt. The nominees must be confirmed by Congress.
Medine is a partner in the law firm of WilmerHale where his practice focuses on privacy and data security, having previously served as a senior advisor to the White House National Economic Council from 2000 to 2001. Brand is currently the chief counsel for regulatory litigation at the US Chamber of Commerce’s National Chamber Litigation Center. And Wald served for 20 years on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, from 1979 to 1999, including five years as chief judge.
The board was set up by Congress to analyze and review actions of the Obama administration with respect to privacy and civil liberties. The board is charged with reporting to Congress its assessment of the privacy and civil liberties impact of the administration’s cybersecurity and counterterrorism activities and recommend modification to address any concerns.
“The board has an important role in safeguarding Americans’ privacy and civil liberties as we work to improve the nation’s cybersecurity”, wrote Schmidt. “The board has a key part in oversight of the customized set of privacy and civil liberties protections designed into the administration’s cybersecurity legislative proposal submitted to Congress this past May”, he added.