Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission and National
Telecommunications and
Information Administration, Department
of Commerce
Esign Public Workshop
April 3, 2001
FTC Headquarters, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington D.C.
This workshop is part of the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's ("NTIA") effort to gather information to report to Congress on the benefits and burdens of § 101(c)(1)(C)(ii) of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act ("ESIGN") which authorizes the use of an electronic record to send legally required information to consumers if the consumer consents or confirms consent "in a manner that reasonably demonstrates that they can access the information." Congress mandated this report under § 105(b) of ESIGN and required the submission of this study by June 30, 2001.
Through this workshop we hope to advance our understanding of the benefits and burdens to businesses and consumers resulting from the consumer consent provision of § 101(c)(1)(C)(ii). The workshop will consist of moderated round table discussions with representatives from industry, government, consumer advocate groups and other interested parties. We hope to foster discussion about best practices in obtaining electronic consent and to allow workshop participants to demonstrate their best practices, and the technologies that are available for companies to obtain consumer consent.
Technology Exhibits: Starting at 12:00p.m. and continuing until the end of the day, attendees may visit technology exhibits in Room 532.
The forum is open to the public, and there is no formal registration process for those wishing to attend.
8:30 - 9:00 Registration
9:00 - 9:05 Opening remarks
Jodie Bernstein,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
9:05 - 9:30 Setting the
Stage: What are the Issues?
Moderator:
Eileen Harrington,
Associate Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
This session will identify the relevant issues regarding § 101(c)(1)(C)(ii) of ESIGN, explore the areas of consensus, controversy and disagreement, and set the stage for the rest of the day's discussion.
Panelists:
Margot Saunders,
National
Consumer Law Center (NCLC)
Jerry Buckley, Counsel
for Electronic Financial Services Council (EFSC)
Benham Dayanim,
Paul,
Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP
9:30 - 10:30 Legal Issues
Moderator:
April Major, Attorney,
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
A moderated roundtable discussion to explore the legal issues that face all parties when implementing the consumer consent provision found in § 101(c)(1)(C)(ii) of ESIGN.
Panelists:
Margot Saunders,
National
Consumer Law Center
Jerry Buckley, Counsel
for Electronic Financial Services Council
Benham Dayanim,
Paul,
Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP
Elizabeth Yen, Hudson
Cook
Robert A. Wittie,
Counsel for Investment Company Institute (ICI)
Jane Stafford, Wachovia
Bank
Mark MacCarthy,
Visa
Payments Systems
Jeff Wood, Household
Bank
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 - 11:45 Technology Issues
Moderator:
Fran Nielson, PhD,
Senior Computer Scientist, National Institute of Science and Technology,
U.S. Department of Commerce
Technical Expert:
William Burr, Manager,
Security Technologies Group, Computer Security Division, NIST, U.S.
Department of Commerce
This moderated roundtable discussion will explore the technology issues and the available software and computer technologies that enable companies to employ the consumer consent provision.
Panelists:
Christopher Smithies,
Selwood
Research
Michael Laurie,
Silanis
Technology
Mark Bohannon, SIIA
Thomas Wells, b4bpartner
Virgina Gobats,
NewRiver
James Brandt, VeriSign
Jane Winn, Professor
of Law, SMU
Dr. Bruce E. Brown,
iLumin
Thomas Greco, Digital
Signature Trust
Margot Saunders,
NCLC
11:45 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 Benefits and Burdens
Moderator:
Kathy Smith, Chief
Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce
Economists:
Keith Anderson,
Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission
Lee Price, Deputy
Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs, Economics and Statistics Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce
This moderated roundtable discussion will focus on the benefits and burdens to consumers and businesses of ESIGN's consumer consent requirement, set forth in § 101(c)(1)(C)(ii). The workshop will also explore whether the benefits outweigh the burdens.
Panelists:
Mark MacCarthy,
Visa
Payments System
Michael Laurie,
Silanis
Technology
Paul Gallagher,
Fidelity
Elizabeth Yen, Hudson
Cook
Jane Winn, Professor
of Law, SMU
Gail Hillebrand,
Consumers
Union
Behnam Dayanim,
Paul,
Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP
Thomas Wells, b4bpartner
John Buchman, E*Trade
Bank
Jeremy Newman, Selwood
Research
Margot Saunders,
NCLC
Wendy Weinberg,
NACAA
Jerry Buckley,
EFSC
3:00 - 3:15 Break
3:15 - 4:15 Best Practices
Moderator:
Eileen Harrington,
Associate Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
This will be a moderated roundtable discussion from the standpoint of both businesses and consumers. We will also explore whether similar best practices apply to all industries or whether some are industry-specific.
Panelists:
Virginia Gobats,
NewRiver
Gail Hillebrand,
Consumers
Union
Margot Saunders,
NCLC
Robert A. Wittie,
Counsel for ICI
Mark Bohannon, SIIA
Jeff Wood, Household
Bank
Jane Stafford, Wachovia
Bank
Dr. Bruce E. Brown,
iLumin
Wendy Weinberg,
NACAA
Paul Gallagher,
Fidelity
4:15 - 4:55 Public Participation
Public attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and offer insight on the day's dialogue.
4:55 - 5:00 Closing: What's next?
U.S. Department of Commerce