DHS Eliminates Data Privacy Committee, Citing ‘Agendas’

“Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will no longer tolerate any advisory committee which push [sic] agendas that attempt to undermine its national security mission, the President’s agenda or Constitutional rights of Americans,” a senior agency official said in a statement Wednesday.

The advisory committee included Joseph Hewitt, AT&T privacy director; John Kropf, retired chief privacy executive at Northrop Grumman; Michelle Richardson, a former privacy staffer at the Center for Democracy and Technology; Ray Thomas, privacy counsel at Walmart; Ron Whitworth, chief privacy officer at Truist; and Mark Francis, privacy attorney with Holland & Knight. Their biographies have been removed from DHS’ website.

The committee, which was renewed in July, consulted the DHS secretary and the chief privacy officer on issues related to personally identifiable information, data integrity, transparency and other privacy-related topics.