WASHINGTON – June 21, 2018 – BSA | The Software Alliance welcomes the Senate Judiciary Committee’s endorsement of Edward Felten and Jane Nitze, who have been nominated to serve as members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). We urge the full Senate to confirm these nominees promptly, and to confirm Adam Klein as PCLOB Chairman.

The PCLOB is an independent agency charged with ensuring that the US Government's efforts to prevent terrorism integrate the protection of privacy and civil liberties. It exercises important oversight responsibility in reviewing surveillance programs conducted under US law.

The movement of data across borders is essential to every industry and businesses of all sizes across the global economy. The PCLOB plays an important role in maintaining transparency in how data is handled and sustaining trust in global data transfers. The US-EU Privacy Shield framework recognizes the role of the PCLOB as a guarantor of the privacy interests of both US and EU nationals. The 2017 annual review of the Privacy Shield called attention to the need to fill current vacancies on the Board to enable it to fully exercise its responsibilities, including by issuing a pending report on surveillance activities under Executive Order 12333. We look forward to working with Congress to swiftly confirm the PCLOB nominations.