Information Technology Commission

that people can collect it and share it. However, now that the state is moving into an electronic age, that may change. She indicated there may be opposition from business and government communities about making personal information inaccessible to them as related to the efficiency of government and the market. She said that the European Union and Canada are allowing individuals to control their own personal information. Organizations can only use an individual's private information for the purpose for which it is being collected unless the individual owner opts to allow the organization to sell or give away the information.

    Mr. North said many data bases have already been created but it is important to examine how the data bases are managed in the future to ensure that government, businesses, and individuals all benefit from the process. He said that many states are guaranteeing individuals access to information contained in their records.

    Ms. Longsworth said there needs to be serious consequences for someone who deliberately chooses to reveal private information inappropriately.
                        
3.    How Can Individual Privacy Be Protected In the Electronic Age? _ Gordon Peterson, Chief Information Officer, State of Utah, distributed an outline titled, "Privacy and the National Information Infrastructure: Principles for Providing and Using Personal Information." He explained the contents of the outline. He also distributed a document titled, "Make Utah a world leader in Information Technology." He discussed how privacy can be protected. He explained that value cards and digital signatures are sources of technology to protect individual privacy.

    Mr. Peterson said digital signature is another way to authenticate transactions and that Utah has been a leader of the digital signature, being the first entity in the world to pass legislation on it. He reported that Utah is starting a pilot project next month relative to the work that Digital Signature Trust is doing with the state on value cards.

    Ms. Longsworth said an important issue is that people's comfort level with technology is mixed and the only way for a card to be successful is to give it a dual approach and allow people the option to not have it. Mr. Hood supported a dual system so individuals have an alternative.

    Bart Blackstock, Department of Public Safety, Driver License Division, explained that the Driver License Division supports a new electronic driver license. He did not support a dual system because of the possibility of mistakes.

    Ms. Downing distributed several news articles pertaining to privacy titled, "AOL Backs Off Plan to Give Out Phone Numbers," "Privacy Protections Raise Concerns," and "The New Data Czars." She explained the contents of the articles.

4.    Committee Business - Membership _ Mr. Ned Hill resigned from the committee due to new responsibilities as special assistant to the President of Brigham Young University. Chair Steele explained the procedure for filling the vacant seat with a prospective member. He said the submission date for applications is October 1, 1997.

    MOTION: Nancy Gibbs moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:37 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.