Supporters promote little-known safety act.

• Position: SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs - Fostering Effective Technologies Act

THE SUPPORT ANTI-TERRORISM BY Fostering Effective Technologies Act, also known as the SAFETY Act, was designed to protect companies that provide technologies to the homeland security market from lawsuits in the event of a catastrophic terrorist attack.

Three years after its passage, the benefits to government and industry are not well known.

More than 10,000 participants registered for the recent GovSec conference in Washington, but only two of them attended a panel discussion on the act, and both were members of the press.

The four-member panel, clearly disappointed by the turnout, nevertheless touted the act's benefits for companies willing to go through the process, and its goal, which is to foster technologies that can help defeat attacks on the homeland.

Mark Robertson, chief of staff of the general counsel office at the Department of Homeland Security, said about 70 technologies have been approved by the office so far. Once the technologies or services have been certified by DHS, they are afforded a great deal of liability protection if they should fail to help prevent a terrorist attack. The law puts jurisdiction in federal court, which prevents plaintiffs from shopping for local courts that may grant favorable rulings, it limits damages to the amount carried by insurance, and bars punitive damages as well.

To gain certification, companies must provide data that proves the technology or service is safe and effective. To win a lawsuit, plaintiffs would have to prove that this...