[Politech] Ron Plesser, R.I.P.

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Fri Nov 19 2004 - 18:26:00 PST


From:
http://www.piperrudnick.com/
On behalf of Frank Burch, Lee Miller and myself, I am very saddened to 
have to report some terrible news. Our partner Ron Plesser collapsed and 
died of an apparent heart attack on November 18th at Dulles Airport.


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RIP: Ron Plesser
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 17:55:37 -0800
From: Ray Everett-Church <ray@private>
To: <dave@private>, "Declan McCullagh" <declan@private>

For your lists...

Services will be held on Sunday at 2pm at Temple Sinai, 3100 Military 
Rd., NW,
Washington, DC, (202) 363-6394. There is a brief blurb on his firm's 
website,
http://www.piperrudnick.com.

Ron was the way Washington is supposed to be... contentious, but kind; 
steadfast
in opposition, but always gracious. This is a tremendous loss to the privacy
policy community. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the service.

I got the following message forwarded from a friend...

Regards,
-Ray

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [UserEmpowerment] Ronald Plesser: An Honored Colleague and
Friend
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:00:54 -0500
From: Jerry Berman <jberman@private>
To: ipwg@private, dpswg@private, supporters@private,
UserEmpowerment@private
CC: CSWG Others: ;

Today is a very sad day for CDT.  Our friend Ron Plesser passed away
suddenly yesterday.

Ron Plesser will be sorely missed as a friend and as a colleague.  He
will be remembered as someone who worked over the last 25 years to
promote privacy and civil liberties values in the age of computer
data bases and the revolutionary development of new communications
technologies and the Internet.

Going back to his work with the Privacy Protection Study Commission
in the mid 1970's, Ron Plesser educated all of us about threats to
privacy in the computer age but also the social value of new
technologies in our life.  He thus saw the need to find policy
solutions that both recognized the value of computer technology in
government and commerce but also established privacy and civil
liberties protections for citizens and consumers .

It is almost impossible to think of landmark privacy statutes over
the last 25 years that could have been enacted without Ron Plesser's
efforts to find workable solutions that balanced competing interests
to make legislation possible.

Statutes establishing privacy for cable subscriber information, email
and cell phones, and video rental records all have his stamp.

Plesser's legacy is not limited to privacy.  He helped to craft the
modern Freedom of Information Act and then to update it to give
citizens access to electronic public information.

Plesser was the expert at the table. He knew the law, the technology,
the players, the threads that had to be weaved together to build
consensus and make privacy and technology policy happen. We, who
worked with him on technology policy and  legislation respected him,
loved him dearly, and will miss him beyond words.

Services will be held on Sunday at Temple Sinai in DC on Military
Road at 2:00pm and all his friends are invited.

Jerry Berman
President
Center for Democracy and Technology
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