| January 5, 2000
Secretary Re: Advisory Committee on Online Access and Security-Nomination, P004807 Dear Mr. Secretary: I place my name in nomination for service on the Advisory Committee on Online Access and Security. Permit me to provide a brief background of my relevant experience. Since 1995, I have served as General Counsel to the Real Estate Information Providers Association (REIPA), a non-profit trade association of web-based information providers serving the real estate industry. These companies access public records data, compile this data into value-added formats and disseminate the data via the web. Given the nature of the data, coming from real estate records, and involving individual persons, issues of privacy and the proper treatment of information are central to the Association. I have spoken to the Association at its annual meeting on a number of times on privacy issues. The Real Estate Information Providers Association has a broad range of businesses, ranging from very large publicly held companies to a very small one and two person firms. The breadth of the various companies represented within the trade association gives me an appreciation on the importance of regulatory flexibility and the impact of various approaches to privacy concerns that the Commission may be considering. In addition to my work on behalf of REIPA, I have worked to ensure private industry compliance with the privacy efforts advanced by the Federal Trade Commission. I have organized and spoken on a number of panels concerning web-based media and the privacy concerns of the Federal Trade Commission. I have had the privilege of being joined on several occasions by Eileen Harrington, Associate Director of the Commission, at several conferences in which privacy issues and the Internet have been a key focus. I have encouraged the importance of private industry efforts to protect privacy, such as the TRUSTe certification program and other efforts. In addition to my recent work with industry, I also have a background in government service that may provide a somewhat unique perspective. I served as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division from 1992 until 1993, and before that, as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice for Regulated Industries. Not only did this work give me substantial grounding in government enforcement and antitrust enforcement in particular, but my work with regulated industries gave me a special perspective on regulatory issues. In addition, I represent a number of individuals with web-based media companies. These companies include companies in the travel industry, real estate, and other specialties. As a result of my experiences, I believe I can represent an industry perspective on privacy issues, while providing the sensitivity of someone who has worked in government and understands the importance of the issues that the Advisory Committee will be addressing. Protecting individual privacy is one of the greatest challenges we face going into this new era of web-based flow of information. I am a Partner with White & Case LLP, and I attach a brief resume to this letter with further additional background information. Thank you very much for your consideration. Very truly yours, JMG:dcl J. MARK GIDLEY Employment 1995-Present Partner, White & Case LLP, Washington, D.C. 1993-95 Partner (1995), Counsel (1993-94), Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge, Washington, D.C. 1992-93 Acting Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 1991-92 Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Affairs, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 1990-91 Associate Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 1989-90 Associate, Vinson & Elkins, Business Litigation Section, Houston, TX 1986-89 Associate, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Litigation Department, Washington, D.C. Education Columbia University School of Law - New York, NY J.D., 1986 Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court Competition Notes & Comments Editor, Columbia Law Review, 1985-86 Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar University of Kansas - Lawrence, Kansas B.S., Economics, 1983 (Highest Distinction) B.G.S., Communication Studies, 1983 (Highest Distinction) Arthur C. Boynton Prize in Economics Professional Honors Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service to the U.S. Department of Justice (1993) Selected Publications "Exclusive Technology Licenses and Their Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Implications," Computer Industry, Vol. II, (ABA Antitrust Section) (Fall 1995 (co-authored with E. Jakovic) "The Antitrust Treatment of Cost Information Exchanges," Computer Industry, Vol. I, No. 3 (ABA Antitrust Section) (Fall 1994) Selected Speeches "Privacy & Other Technology Issues for Associations," 35th Annual Symposium on Associations and Antitrust, Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. Feb. 16, 1999. "Beware of The Long Arm of the Law: Web Sites and Personal Jurisdiction," Law & Order in Internet Commerce, Tucson, Arizona, Feb. 23, 1998. "Copyright and Tort Law for the Internet: An Introduction," Real Estate Connect 97, The Commerce and Technology Summit, San Francisco, July 25, 1997. "Real-Time Information Exchanges and Antitrust in the Late 1990s," D.C. Bar Association, 34th Annual Symposium on Associations and Antitrust, Feb. 18, 1998. "Grappling with the 1990s Legal Environment: Legal Issues for Information Providers - Privacy, Fraud and Other Compliance Issues," Annual Conference, Real Estate Information Providers Association, Nov. 14, 1997. "Working with Expert Witnesses in Complex Antitrust Trials," U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Annual Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Economics Training Symposium, Dec. 1, 1997. Professional Memberships Member, New York, District of Columbia, and Texas Bars American Bar Association, Antitrust Section Association of the Bar of the City of New York College of the State Bar of Texas (1991) |