For immediate release: November 7, 2000
Press Contact: Irene Oujo 201.996.1154

MAJOR NATIONAL CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON PRIVACY REVOLUTION IN JAPAN
Privacy & American Business Holds Major Conference in D.C. on November 28-30

WASHINGTON, D.C.***NEWS ADVISORY*** As the two countries with the largest household Internet-user population, the U.S. and Japan are exploring ways to protect consumer privacy. How the privacy regulations of these two Internet giants compare will be a focus at Privacy & American Business's Seventh Annual National Conference, "Managing the Privacy Revolution," and highlighted at the full morning session, "What's Happening in Japan, the Globe's Second Most Wired Nation?"

Because Japan serves as the most important trading partner to the U.S., its new privacy initiatives are of special interest to both Japanese consumer-product companies operating in the U.S. and Japan, and to U.S. companies conducting or expecting to conduct consumer marketing and e-commerce activities in Japan.

"Despite some cultural and commercial differences, the U.S. and Japan are adopting largely similar approaches to consumer privacy in both the online and offline worlds - approaches that differ from the main European Union data protection regulations," said Professor Alan F. Westin, Director of the Japan-U.S. Privacy and Data Protection Program and President and Publisher of P&AB.

At the conference, attendees will receive three unique publications focusing on Japan, the U.S., and attitudes toward privacy including: Survey Report on Japanese Consumers and Privacy, with Comparisons to the U.S. Public; Guide to e-Commerce and Privacy Developments in Japan; and Guide to Privacy and Data Protection in Japan.

The two-day conference and CPO and Privacy Practitioners' Workshop will feature privacy advocates and senior government and business leaders from Japan, the U.S. and Europe such as: Shuhei Kishimoto of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry; Dr. Masao Horibe of Chuo University; Yuji Yamadori of JIPDEC; Jiro Makino of the Japan Internet Lawyers Conference; Eijiro Aihara of the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan; Masanobu Katoh of Fujitsu; Kazunori Kuze of the Japan Commerce Association of Washington, D.C.; U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT); Peter Swire, Chief Counselor to the President on Privacy; FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky; Jerry Berman, of the Center for Democracy and Technology; Barbara Wellbery, of the Department of Commerce, Gerard de Graaf of the Delegation of the EU to the U.S., Alden Schacher of the Walt Disney Internet Group; Dr. Steven Lucas of Persona; and representatives from American Express, IBM, Nationwide Insurance, Citigroup, First Data, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Verizon, and ZeroKnowledge.

Visit pandab.org for more information or contact Lorrie Sherwood or David Ciauro at 201.996.1154 or . The application for conference press credentials is available online at pandab.org/press9.html.

About Privacy & American Business
Privacy & American Business is an activity of the non-profit Center for Social & Legal Research, a non-partisan public policy think tank headed by Dr. Alan Westin, Columbia University Professor Emeritus and internationally recognized authority on data protection and privacy; Robert R. Belair, leading Washington-based public policy attorney and D.C. insider; and Executive Director and Editor Lorrie Sherwood. P&AB is on the cutting edge of emerging privacy and data protection issues. P&AB readers and program participants are the policy-making leaders from business, U.S. and international governments, leading industry associations, and academia.

P&AB speaks to business about privacy and data protection issues- both domestic and global- and assists them in understanding the issues and developing policies that balance their need to use personal information with the concerns of individuals whose information is being used. P&AB publishes a bi-monthly newsletter/report, conducts an Annual National Conference, commissions surveys that inform understanding of consumer privacy issues by business, directs projects to assist businesses in grasping the meaning of and addressing the rising privacy issues driven by the new technologies worldwide, and reports on useful materials and publications.

P&AB conducts special projects and is now assisting business and governments in addressing the EU Data Protection Directive and other national privacy initiatives, and leads a Model Contracts Program, a Global Privacy Project, and a Corporate Privacy Leadership Program. Additionally, P&AB is addressing the complexities of transferring HR data across national boundaries. More information about P&AB and its projects are available at two websites pandab.org and www.PrivacyExchange.org, the latter being a free global reference library and resource on privacy and data protection in the U.S. and abroad.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
David Ciauro or Lorrie Sherwood, 201.996.1154 or