From: "Steve Heymann" sheymann@pouch.com I am re-sending my nomination for the Advisory Committee. There is no attachment. Thank you. ----- Original Message----- From: Steve Heymann [mailto:sheymann@pouch.com] Dear Secretary, Federal Trade Commission: Please accept this nomination of Marc E. Szafran, Esq. for appointment to the Advisory Committee on Online Access and Security. As requested, below please find a summary of Mr. Szafran's qualifications and a brief description of the interests that he can represent. Qualifications: Marc E. Szafran, Esq. is currently the General Counsel of the Entertainment Software Rating Board and oversees the ESRB's "Privacy Online Program". The ESRB is the rating board established by the Interactive Digital Software Association to provide parents and other consumers with the necessary information to make informed decisions when purchasing interactive entertainment software products. The ESRB is broken down into four divisions: the Rating Board, ESRBinteractive, ESRB Privacy Online, and the Advertising Review Council. Prior to becoming the General Counsel of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, Mr. Szafran was Assistant General Counsel at the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications where he was responsible for telecommunications and technology franchising and business and legal policy for the City. Mr. Szafran has enjoyed a diverse career in the field of entertainment, computer, and telecommunications law, having held positions as a legal advisor to the Chief Executive Officer at Empire One Telecommunications, senior legal research associate at the Columbia University Institute for Tele-Information ("CITI"), and as a legal assistant at the entertainment law firm of Rosalind Lichter located in the Tribeca Film Center in New York City. Mr. Szafran has counseled clients in both the private and public sectors on various issues related to the Internet and new media law, including intellectual property law, technology licensing, contract law, jurisdictional requirements, privacy and information collection practices, on-line data security, and federal and state law compliance. Mr. Szafran received his juris doctor from Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C. and New York. While at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Mr. Szafran received the Howard M. Squadron Law, Media, and Society Fellow and was the Articles Acquisitions Editor for the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. Mr. Szafran is also a published author, having his article - Contracts Formed in Cyberspace: A Day of Reckoning for the Statute of Frauds ' published in 1996 in the Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal. Interests: As the General Counsel of the Entertainment Software Rating Board ("ESRB") and the individual charged with overseeing and administering ESRB's Privacy Online Program"an independent privacy seal provider for the interactive entertainment software industry" Mr. Szafran has a direct impact on the industry's online business practices and associated use of consumer's personal information. To date, the majority of companies that ESRB services account for more than 90 per cent of the 5.5 billion in entertainment software sold in the U.S. in 1998. These companies were among the earliest active participants in electronic commerce over the Internet. It is estimated that the online game sector generated $250 million in 1998 and within five years may equal 20% of total industry revenues. Thus, questions regarding how companies collect, use and disseminate personal information online, and how companies can best meet the privacy expectations of their customers and comply with applicable laws and regulations, are not peripheral matters, but go to the very heart of Mr. Szafran's expertise. In his capacity as General Counsel of the ESRB and ESRB Privacy Online, Mr. Szafran's interests lie in both protecting the rights of Web consumers and the interests of Web publishers, and helping to make the Internet a secure, reliable, and private place to share information and conduct business. With regard to ESRB Privacy Online, Mr. Szafran assisted in the drafting of the original Principles and Guidelines for Fair Information Practices that make up the central component of the ESRB Privacy Online Program. These Principles and Guidelines are used to determine whether an interactive entertainment company is in compliance with the ESRB Privacy Online Program, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule and fair information practices, in general. We are confident that Mr. Szafran's extensive experience and knowledge of online privacy issues would support the Advisory Committee in providing practical, accurate, and well-rounded recommendations to the Commission regarding the implementation of certain fair information practices. We believe that because of both Mr. Szafran's current position, and the public and private interests he represents, he would contribute greatly to the Advisory Committee's work and promote a valuable balance of views. Thank you for your consideration. |