RIP: Ronald Plesser

[giza]

A friend of mine forwarded me the below obituary of Ronald Plesser, who passed away recently. His name might not ring any bells, but he's someone who has fought for privacy rights and civil liberties over the last 25 years. He foresaw privacy threats posed by computer record keeping back in the 1970s. He also helped write some up some well known laws such as The Freedom of Information Act.

I guess I'll ramble a little about The Center for Democracy and Technology, too. They are an organization that works to promote civil liberties and democratic values in the digital age. Back in 1996 when the Communications Decency Act was making its way through congress, the CDT was one of the many groups that spoke out against it. Their more recent work includes criticizing the PATRIOT act and fighting spam. They are definitely one of the Good Guys.


Subject: [UserEmpowerment] Ronald Plesser: An Honored Colleague and
Friend
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:00:54 -0500
From: Jerry Berman <jberman@cdt.org>

Today is a very sad day for CDT.  Our friend Ron Plesser passed away
suddenly yesterday.

Ron Plesser will be sorely missed as a friend and as a colleague.  He
will be remembered as someone who worked over the last 25 years to
promote privacy and civil liberties values in the age of computer
data bases and the revolutionary development of new communications
technologies and the Internet.

Going back to his work with the Privacy Protection Study Commission
in the mid 1970's, Ron Plesser educated all of us about threats to
privacy in the computer age but also the social value of new
technologies in our life.  He thus saw the need to find policy
solutions that both recognized the value of computer technology in
government and commerce but also established privacy and civil
liberties protections for citizens and consumers .

It is almost impossible to think of landmark privacy statutes over
the last 25 years that could have been enacted without Ron Plesser's
efforts to find workable solutions that balanced competing interests
to make legislation possible.

Statutes establishing privacy for cable subscriber information, email
and cell phones, and video rental records all have his stamp.

Plesser's legacy is not limited to privacy.  He helped to craft the
modern Freedom of Information Act and then to update it to give
citizens access to electronic public information.

Plesser was the expert at the table. He knew the law, the technology,
the players, the threads that had to be weaved together to build
consensus and make privacy and technology policy happen. We, who
worked with him on technology policy and  legislation respected him,
loved him dearly, and will miss him beyond words.

Services will be held on Sunday at Temple Sinai in DC on Military
Road at 2:00pm and all his friends are invited.

Jerry Berman
President
Center for Democracy and Technology
_______________________________________________
http://www.cdt.org/mailman/listinfo/userempowerment

Comments

Thanks

[tiggycat.livejournal.com]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I am glad to be able to add Ronald Plesser to my memory as someone who did a great deal for me and I never even had heard of him until now.

Always good to know of the "Good Guys" even if they have passed so can remember them and what they did for us.

Thanks again Giza.