Homeland Security Issues Rules To Implement Safety ActHomeland Security Issues Rules To Implement Safety Act

Employing the same reasoning behind Good Samaritan laws--in which those who aid people hurt in accidents can't be sued for further injury--the Department of Homeland Security issued rules on Friday to implement the Support Anti-Terrorism By Fostering Effective Technologies, or Safety, Act, which Congress enacted last year.

The government will provide companies investing in the development and deployment of qualified anti-terrorism technologies with legal protections to minimize their risks should they be sued in connection with a terrorist attack. Many companies might not invest in potential lifesaving technologies without the act, the law's supporters say.

The act gives the Homeland Security secretary the power to determine if an anti-terrorism technology is considered qualified through two mechanisms designed to limit liability: designation and approval. For a company's anti-terrorism technology to receive a designation status, it must be evaluated against a list of specific criteria. To obtain an approval, the technology must also meet additional specifications requiring that the technology performs as intended, conforms to the seller's specifications, and is safe for use as intended.

Once this designation/approval is established, companies using Safety Act protections will have their cases heard in federal, not state, courts. In addition, the protections create a government-contractor defense in cases where it wouldn't otherwise exist. A 30-day public comment period on the new rules commenced Friday. The department expects to begin accepting applications for Safety Act protections on Sept 1.

Harrison Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, a lobbying group that represents major IT vendors, says he's pleased with the speed the Homeland Security Department is taking in accepting public comments and processing applications to qualify technologies.