Homeland Security privacy chief quits
WASHINGTON -- Nuala O'Connor Kelly, who won praise for protecting Americans' privacy rights at the Department of Homeland Security but drew criticism for her office's lack of independence, stepped down yesterday after two years as the department's first chief privacy officer.
The ombudsman-like job was created by Congress in 2002 to uphold the Privacy Act within a department that launched a series of ambitious security programs that affect millions of people, including airline travelers, truck drivers, and foreign visitors.
Many groups that advocate greater privacy protections feared the chief privacy officer could have become a rubber stamp for the administration's homeland security agenda, but they credited O'Connor Kelly with establishing an office that won respect within and outside the administration.
Former and current colleagues said O'Connor Kelly used a combination of her forceful personality and support of Tom Ridge, the department's first secretary, to ensure that her staff of 400 employees held its own inside the department.
''O'Connor Kelly has done a commendable job as Homeland Security's first chief privacy officer considering the limited independence of the job as it was created by Congress," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Project said in a statement. ''But even as strong a privacy officer as O'Connor Kelly could only do so much with the powers that she was given."
O'Connor Kelly has accepted a position as head of privacy issues for
Maureen Cooney, her chief of staff, has been named acting chief privacy officer.
