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Jim Harper
Director of Information Policy Studies
As director of information policy studies, Jim Harper works to adapt law and policy to the unique problems of the information age, in areas such as privacy, telecommunications, intellectual property, and security. Harper was a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee and he recently co-edited the book Terrorizing Ourselves: How U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It. He has been cited and quoted by numerous print, Internet, and television media outlets, and his scholarly articles have appeared in the Administrative Law Review, the Minnesota Law Review, and the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly. Harper wrote the book Identity Crisis: How Identification Is Overused and Misunderstood. Harper is the editor of Privacilla.org, a Web-based think tank devoted exclusively to privacy, and he maintains online federal spending resource WashingtonWatch.com. He holds a J.D. from UC Hastings College of Law.
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: jharper@cato.org
Books and Book Chapters
Terrorizing Ourselves: Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It, co-editor (2010).
"National ID Systems," Chapter 29 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Regulation of Electronic Speech and Commerce," Chapter 30 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Telecommunications, Broadband, and Media Policy," Chapter 37 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Domestic Security," Chapter 47 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
Cato Studies
"Reputation under Regulation: The Fair Credit Reporting Act at 40 and Lessons for the Internet Privacy Debate," Policy Analysis no. 690, December 8, 2011.
"Publication Practices for Transparent Government," Briefing Paper no. 121, September 23, 2011.
"Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification: Franz Kafka's Solution to Illegal Immigration," Policy Analysis no. 612, March 6, 2008.
"Effective Counterterrorism and the Limited Role of Predictive Data Mining," by Jeff Jonas and Jim Harper, Policy Analysis no. 584, December 11, 2006.
"Understanding Privacy -- and the Real Threats to It," Policy Analysis no. 520, August 4, 2004.
Articles and Newsletters
"Internal Enforcement, E-Verify, and the Road to a National ID," Cato Journal, vol. 32 no. 1, Winter 2012.
"America Identified: Biometric Technology and Society," Reviewed in Cato Journal, vol. 31 no. 3, Fall 2011.
"Federal Spending Transparency: Unlocking the Power of Abstraction," OMB Watch, May 20, 2010.
"The Promise That Keeps on Breaking," TechKnowledge, April 13, 2009.
"Government-Run Cyber Security? No, Thanks," TechKnowledge, March 13, 2009.
Opinion and Commentary
"The Internet Is Not Government's to Regulate," Orange County Register, January 18, 2012
"Supreme Court Should Require Warrants for GPS Tracking," JURIST, November 10, 2011
"Resetting Privacy Expectations," The New York Times (Online), February 3, 2011
"GOP Can Eclipse Obama," Politico.com, January 12, 2011
"TSA Searches, Bomb Risk Near Zero," Politico.com, November 24, 2010
Cato @ Liberty Blog Posts
"Cardless National ID and the E-Verify Rebellion," February 6, 2012
"Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won't Vote," February 1, 2012
"Kashmir Hill Has It Right...," February 1, 2012
"Helping the House Advance Data Transparency," January 31, 2012
"'Destroy America' = Suspicion Fail," January 31, 2012
Legal Briefs
United States v. Jones, October 3, 2011 (PDF, 191 KB)
Mayo v. Prometheus Labs, September 9, 2011 (PDF, 218 KB)
Golan v. Holder, June 20, 2011 (PDF, 202 KB)
Events
"Publication Practices for Transparent Government: Budgeting, Appropriating and Spending," December 14, 2011 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Abolish the Transportation Security Administration," September 30, 2011 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Publication Practices for Transparent Government: Rating the Congress," September 23, 2011 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Immigration Reform, Yes; E-Verify, No," July 20, 2011 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Location-Tracking Technology and Privacy," January 26, 2011 [Policy Forum]
Speeches and Testimony
"Legislation to Protect the Rights of Travelers," March 30, 2011.
"Florida's Implementation of the Federal Real ID Act of 2005," February 24, 2011.
"Consumer Online Privacy," July 27, 2010.
"The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010," May 6, 2010.
"Performance of the DC One Card Program," October 9, 2009.
Multimedia
Strip Search Machines Writ Large (January 27, 2012) [Daily Podcast, 05:27]
A Unanimous Privacy Victory in U.S. v. Jones (January 26, 2012) [Cato Video, 06:07]
Obama's Uneven Record on Basic Transparency (December 30, 2011) [Daily Podcast, 06:56]
Publication Practices for Transparent Government: Budgeting, Appropriating and Spending with Erich Zimmermann, Craig Jennings and Brandon Arnold (December 14, 2011) [Events, 36:44]
Jim Harper discusses the Antoine Jones case on Downsize DC (November 8, 2011) [Media Highlights - Radio, 28:56]
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