Jim Harper Biography

Jim Harper is one of the nation’s most recognized authorities on privacy and security matters, and in addition to his work at the Cato Institute, he is a member of the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. The insights and guidance he provides on the difficult problems of adapting law and policy to the unique problems of the information age are in wide demand, and in addition to frequent presentations to business, professional, and industry groups, he is often called upon for commentary by the national media, including Fox News Channel, CBS, and MSNBC.

In an era of unprecedented initiatives to increase national security, what has the impact been on our privacy – and what is its potential to diminish individual liberties? Jim Harper can tell you. Harper reveals how many of our national security programs erode liberty and privacy while doing little to secure the country or its people. Harper doesn’t just speak about policy – he gets deep into the specifics, into how security works, where it goes right, and how it so often goes wrong or off-track. In addition to being an expert on plans, programs, and regulations, he is an expert speaker on national ID cards, data mining, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, data retention mandates, and many other specific security measures that affect privacy. Harper’s presentations highlight how most security programs help the government monitor and control law-abiding citizens but can be all too easily defeated by a committed attacker. As security ratchets up, Harper shows what we cannot afford to lose – and are already placing in peril – to overzealous and ineffective security.

As director of information policy studies, Jim Harper focuses on the difficult problems of adapting law and policy to the unique problems of the information age. Harper is a member of the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. His work has been cited by USA Today, the Associated Press, and Reuters. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CBS, and MSNBC, and other media. His scholarly articles have appeared in the Administrative Law Review, the Minnesota Law Review, and the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly. Recently, Harper wrote the book Identity Crisis: How Identification Is Overused and Misunderstood. Harper is the editor of Privacilla.org, a Web-based think tank devoted exclusively to privacy, and he maintains online federal spending resource WashingtonWatch.com. He holds a J.D. from Hastings College of the Law.

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