.jpg) US Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, visits AmCham France
On Friday, December 2, 2011 the American Chamber of Commerce in France had the honor of hosting Janet Napolitano, US Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at our new offices for a private roundtable luncheon and discussion. Despite being only eight years old, the Department of Homeland Security has the third largest international footprint of American agencies, working physically in 75 countries and covering a wide area of jurisdictions, including intellectual property rights protection and cyber security.
The executive representatives of companies present including Apple, AT&T, Areva, CISCO, Disney, DHL, FedEx, LVMH, Microsoft, Verizon and Vivendi were given the opportunity to voice their concerns and questions in an open discussion with Secretary Napolitano. Examples of questions raised were:
- "How can the IP of global brands be protected in the face of extensive counterfeiting in the Chinese market?
- "How is Cloud computing technology impacting the way we do business and how is this redefining traditional concepts of 'privacy' in France?
- "Considering recent events in Europe and the Middle East, the issue of 'free internet/free speech' is extremely relevant. How do we reconcile the inherent tension between encouraging freedom of expression on the internet and protecting IP rights?
The Secretary also shared her views on how DHS is strengthening its reach through increased engagement with international stakeholders and how, in a more connected and mobile world, security has become a shared responsibility. Throughout the discussion Secretary Napolitano stressed the interrelated nature of security and commerce, highlighting DHS efforts to promote trade and travel through various bilateral and multilateral security agreements. She also spoke about the progress of recent global agreements such as the Passenger Name Record agreements and the increased outreach to the private sector in the areas of cyber security and IP protection to enhance incident response (towards transatlantic smuggling rings, counterfeit goods websites, protection of defense systems).
We are very grateful to Secretary Napolitano and her staff for providing the American Chamber of Commerce and its members with a unique opportunity to meet and discuss the latest policy developments that impact their business.
With special thanks to NYSE EURONEXT for their Sponsorship
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