Hettinga Plays Horseman, Gets the Last Word...

[Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>]

It seems the former Office of Technology Assessment, now called the
Institute for Technology Assessment (Go, Newt!), had a need for a horseman
on their law-enforcement panel tomorrow.

Anyone know where I can get a riding crop? :-).

I'm scheduled, anyway. I'm in Cupertino at the moment (the Mac-Crypto
conference was, er, insanely great; more on that later), and I haven't
received the plane tickets yet (Bob Hettinga: You Buy, I Fly), though
they're supposed to show up today. We'll see when I get home tonight.

Oh. Any former Pac-Man addicts remember the name of the ghosts?

I think there were four, right?


Cheers,
Bob Hettinga

-----------------


The Institute
For
Technology
Assessment
ITA

INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

WORKSHOP
DIGITAL MONEY AND PUBLIC POLICY

SEPTEMBER 10, 1996

US House of Representatives, Cannon Office Building, Room 121


A Workshop on Public Policy and New Technology:  "Digital Money" is a
rapidly evolving
financial/communications technology.  It is important that government,
industry, and the public fully understand the unique characteristics and
potential benefits and costs of  this radically new technology, so that
benefits may be fully realized and costs avoided through early, judicious
attention to public policy issues and concerns.

This workshop brings together the stakeholders and interested parties
-including the public and their government representatives-to consider the
issues that may be posed by this emerging technology.

In this workshop, attention will be focused on three questions:  What
issues need to be resolved now if development of digital money is to
proceed with minimal social costs and institutional risks? Where is there
general agreement about needed actions, or about reasonable solutions to
recognized problems? Where are there true uncertainties that must be
monitored, solved empirically, or objectively researched?

The workshop will consist of three sessions.  Each will begin with invited
presentations, followed by open discussion among presenters and
participants.


Moderator:  Dr. Wayne Boucher of Strategic Futures International

10 a.m.  Greetings and Introductions

Keynote Address:  The Honorable Michael Castle
Chairman, Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy
House Committee on Banking and Financial Services

10:30 a.m.  Session I :  Digital Money Systems, Today and Tomorrow -
Industry Perspectives

Who are the players in developing digital money -and what new players will
emerge?  What are the potential benefits -and costs-for banks, credit card
companies, telecom companies, software vendors, or others? What has been
learned from early pilot systems?  What are the relative advantages-and
risks-of smart cards vs. network-based systems?  What older payment systems
lose ground to electronic money and smart cards? Is the playing field level
with respect to regulation and legislation?
Specific issues that may be raised include questions about state licensing,
Bank Secrecy Act coverage and financial privacy, protocols for payments of
different sizes, clearinghouses, and multiple mints.
	PRESENTERS:	Roger Applewhite, Benton International, Inc., Torrance,
California
	William Barr, Bellcore,  Basking Ridge, N.J.
	Electronic Funds Transfer Association, Reston, Virginia
	Kawika Daguio, American Bankers Association, Washington, D.C.


12:30 p.m.  Buffet lunch
1:15 p.m.  Session II.  Government's Role in the Development of Digital Money
How may existing laws and regulations impede the development of digital
money?  Does the possibility of future regulations or restrictions threaten
to drive development in sub-optimal directions? Do banks or other potential
developers need firmer assurances about regulatory intentions?
Does existing legislation and regulation adequately protect property and
contract rights with regard to digital money? What might be the effect of
European data protection initiatives, and what steps can the US government
take to circumvent international friction over this issue? What are the
major risks imposed by digital money, including risks of devaluation of US
currency? Could private insurance buttress against network failure,
electronic runs on money, or other sources of catastrophic risk? To what
extent could a failure in digital money systems contaminate or threaten the
traditional banking system, or the integrity of  traditional money systems?
Who will set standards with respect to risk management and capital adequacy
of clearing systems?

Should smart cards and small internet transactions be exempt from
Regulation E and EFTA protections against consumer liability? Would -or
should Representative Markey's On-line Privacy Bill cover digital money
transactions? Would non-bank digital money mints be covered by the Right to
Financial Privacy Act of 1978 and the Electronic Communications Act of
1986? Which party would bear the risk of loss in case of hard-disk crashes,
counterfeiting, network failure, etc.?

	PRESENTERS:  	Melanie Fein, Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C.
	L. Richard Fisher, Morrison & Foerster, Washington, D.C.
	Professor Sarah Jane Hughes, Indiana University Law School


2:45 p.m.  Session III:  Law Enforcement Issues
Will anonymous instantaneous digital money create the possibility of new
crimes, or new versions of old crimes -theft, money laundering, insider
trading, etc.?  How would the flow of invisible, non-traceable money affect
law enforcement and the administration of justice? Do benefits of
encryption outweigh the possible harm to law enforcement capabilities? Does
digital money threaten the new focus of law enforcement on seizing the
proceeds of criminal enterprises? Considering the lessor of the Digital
Telephony Act, can early cooperation between digital money providers and
law enforcement avoid  the heavy costs of retrofitting systems to
accommodate the needs of law enforcement?
What is the appropriate role of government in assuring the security of
digital money systems against breaches by insiders, or criminals, or
terrorists? To what extent would digital money threaten the ability of the
IRS to collect taxes or to prosecute tax dodgers?
	PRESENTERS:	Roger Weiner, Deputy Director, FinCEN, U.S. Department
of the Treasury
	Scott Charney, Chief, Computer Crimes Section, U.S. Department of Justice
	Robert Hettinga, Boston, MA


4:00 p.m.  Adjournment

Conference Organizers
Steven Bonorris, Vary Coates (ITA) 202 686 0693

-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com)
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender."
                -- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard,
                       for Bart Simpson
The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/