In a statement released October 24, the Obama Administration has launched a new interagency “subcommittee” of the National Science and Technology Council to review privacy and Internet policy, which may include review of health care privacy issues.  The working group will focus primarily on individual privacy issues associated with the Internet and related online systems, to “develop principles and strategic directions with the goal of fostering consensus in legislative, regulatory, and international Internet policy realms.”  Consisting of representatives of eleven Federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, and eight Executive Organizations, the Subcommittee promises to work closely with private stakeholders to develop a set of core principles to, among other things, facilitate transparency, promote cooperation, empower individual decision-making, and build trust in online environments, while at the same time protecting the rule of law, promoting innovation and economic expansion, and balancing the interests of stakeholders.  The identities of the private stakeholders to be invited, the schedule of the group’s meetings, and the transparency of the subcommittee’s deliberations, have yet to be determined or announced by the Obama Administration.