Report From 2008 National Governors’ Association Meeting
Leslie Bar-Ness, manager, State Government Affairs, Symantec: Monday, July 28th, 2008 | 10:00 am
On any given day, Symantec’s state government relations team finds itself engaged in the minutia of combing through pieces of legislation dealing with data security and breach notification. Recently, however, I had the wonderful opportunity to engage in policy making that deals with great and innovative ideas at the National Governors’ Association meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I joined nearly half of our nation’s governors in the birthplace of one of the most innovative ideas in politics, a democratic republic. One of the ideas that the governors referenced time and again was that the states serve as laboratories for democracy -- and to paraphrase a little bit -- innovative ideas in policy and governance.
The most famous and inspiring former governor at the conference was Saturday’s keynote speaker, President Bill Clinton. The president was warmly welcomed by the governors and invited guests and he addressed the governors with his perspective of our nation’s most pressing concerns: national identity, income inequality and energy. One key point that President Clinton made, and many Governors echoed throughout the conference, was that technology is essential for addressing these issues. Watch
It became clear that our government leaders are relying on the high tech industry to address the growing concerns about the cost of energy and the impacts of climate change. There was a strong consensus on the need to reduce consumption without negatively impacting mobility or productivity. Many of the governors whose states enjoy natural but non-renewable resources, such as oil or coal, are in favor of fully exploiting those resources. They would like more drilling and more mining but utilizing advanced technology to do so in a clean, safe and efficient manner.
As I participated in the proceedings over the several days, I was excited about the role that Symantec can assuredly play in partnering with governors and their chief information officers to work within these state laboratories to help them substantially reduce their energy use. Technology has a role to play and with our software-based solutions for data center management as well as desktop management, we have quietly innovated and brought to market the technological solutions that the governors are seeking. Our state government relations team will be reaching out to these governors to discuss true partnerships.
Symantec Wows Internet Safety Technical Task Force with Norton Family Safety
Owen Sweeney, manager, U.S. State Government Affairs: Thursday, July 10th, 2008 | 10:00 am
Last week on the campus of Harvard Law School, David Lee of Symantec Research Labs demonstrated our newest consumer pilot technology, Norton Family Safety, to the Internet Safety Technical Task Force. Neither an age or identity verification tool nor a product that simply allows parents to “spy on” their children, the product encourages discussion between parents and kids, starting with the development of computer usage rules that are in line with the family’s values. Kids will always be aware that the product is active on the system. Already having been wowed myself by a demo of Norton Family Safety, I was eager to see the reaction of the Task Force’s members to this innovative online safety solution.
Scanning the room during David’s presentation I was not disappointed: I saw several heads nodding in approval and heard many enthusiastic comments praising Norton Family Safety as “a great idea for parents” with a “refreshingly open approach.” Said Marsali Hancock, President of the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, “Thank you so much! It’s clear Symantec has been listening to what we’ve been saying about giving parents the tools to help their children safely navigate the Web 2.0 environment.” Sounds like we have a winner.
But this is not simply about Symantec leading the way in the market with a new product; it also demonstrates Symantec’s leadership in the public policy arena. It was last summer in Raleigh, North Carolina where Symantec added its voice to a coalition opposing a well-intentioned, though flawed, piece of legislation that would have required social networking websites to confirm the identities of parents who are providing permission for their minor children to access the site. Having built our reputation as a leader in helping parents provide guidance to children who are using the Internet, we researched the technologies that the legislation was looking to mandate, and while acknowledging their effectiveness for some uses, concluded that they were not yet accurate enough to be used for such a serious purpose as protecting children from sexual exploitation. Instead, we recommended a study of available technologies, which is where we are today.
The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was formed in January through a joint agreement between MySpace and forty-nine state attorneys general to consider technologies that industry and end users can use to keep children safe on the Internet. Two more meetings are scheduled for September and November, the September meeting being open to the public. The Task Force is required to submit a final report to the attorneys general on December 31.
As for Norton Family Safety, it is currently in private beta. A pubic beta will be made available by the end of the year with the product expected to go to full market sometime in 2009.