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Jim Harper
Director of Information Policy Studies
As director of information policy studies, Jim Harper works to adapt law and policy to the unique problems of the information age, in areas such as privacy, telecommunications, intellectual property, and security. Harper was a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee and he recently co-edited the book Terrorizing Ourselves: How U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It. He has been cited and quoted by numerous print, Internet, and television media outlets, and his scholarly articles have appeared in the Administrative Law Review, the Minnesota Law Review, and the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly. 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 UC Hastings College of Law.
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: jharper@cato.org
Books and Book Chapters
Terrorizing Ourselves: Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It, co-editor (2010).
"National ID Systems," Chapter 29 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Regulation of Electronic Speech and Commerce," Chapter 30 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Telecommunications, Broadband, and Media Policy," Chapter 37 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Domestic Security," Chapter 47 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
Cato Studies
"Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification: Franz Kafka's Solution to Illegal Immigration," Policy Analysis no. 612, March 6, 2008.
"Effective Counterterrorism and the Limited Role of Predictive Data Mining," by Jeff Jonas and Jim Harper, Policy Analysis no. 584, December 11, 2006.
"Understanding Privacy -- and the Real Threats to It," Policy Analysis no. 520, August 4, 2004.
Articles and Newsletters
"Federal Spending Transparency: Unlocking the Power of Abstraction," OMB Watch, May 20, 2010.
"The Promise That Keeps on Breaking," TechKnowledge, April 13, 2009.
"Government-Run Cyber Security? No, Thanks," TechKnowledge, March 13, 2009.
"U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: FAIL," TechKnowledge, February 9, 2009.
""Clean Tech": Does Going Green Mean Going Red? ," TechKnowledge, December 10, 2008.
Opinion and Commentary
"Resetting Privacy Expectations," The New York Times (Online), February 3, 2011
"GOP Can Eclipse Obama," Politico.com, January 12, 2011
"TSA Searches, Bomb Risk Near Zero," Politico.com, November 24, 2010
"Online Privacy (Part 3)," Economist (Online), September 2, 2010
"Online Privacy (Part 2)," Economist (Online), August 30, 2010
Cato @ Liberty Blog Posts
"An Economic Policy That Also Causes Cavities," June 24, 2011
"Podcast on Internet Privacy and Do-Not-Track," June 24, 2011
"Sorrell vs. IMS Health: Not a Privacy Case," June 24, 2011
"Spending Transparency Gets a Head of Steam," June 17, 2011
"Copyright, Innovation, and Empiricism," June 15, 2011
Events
"Location-Tracking Technology and Privacy," January 26, 2011 [Policy Forum]
"Strategic Counterterrorism: The Signals We Send," July 29, 2010 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Terrorizing Ourselves: Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It," May 24, 2010 [Book Forum]
"Should Immigration Reform Include a National ID?," April 23, 2010 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"The Watchers: The Rise of America's Surveillance State," March 10, 2010 [Book Forum]
Speeches and Testimony
"Legislation to Protect the Rights of Travelers," March 30, 2011.
"Florida's Implementation of the Federal Real ID Act of 2005," February 24, 2011.
"Consumer Online Privacy," July 27, 2010.
"The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010," May 6, 2010.
"Performance of the DC One Card Program," October 9, 2009.
Multimedia
Jim Harper discusses a cardless national ID program on WAVA's The Don Kroah Show (June 3, 2011) [Media Highlights - Radio, 11:39]
Jim Harper on the e-verify system on FBN's Freedom Watch (June 2, 2011) [Media Highlights - TV, 04:36]
Jim Harper on cyber attacks on WOR's John Gambling Show (June 1, 2011) [Media Highlights - Radio, 10:39]
Jim Harper discusses the G8 and new proposed Internet regulations on WOR's The John Gambling Show (May 26, 2011) [Media Highlights - Radio, 09:17]
Obama and Congress on Cybersecurity (May 24, 2011) [Daily Podcast, 07:06]
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