The Privacy Foundation detailed the top 10 privacy stories of the year and made predictions for future privacy challenges raised by the stories. The list includes Carnivore, companies that change their privacy policies, and workplace surveillance.
Bots, computer programs that engage Internet users in conversations, have the potential to extract personal information. Sometimes, Internet users engage these bots in conversation without knowing that they are writing to a computer.
Egghead.com, an online merchant with 3.5 million registered users, was successfully breached by a hacker. User information, including credit card numbers may have been accessed.
The software, Copyright Agent and a system employed by Emusic can track users who share files online. The developers of Copyright Agent claim that their software can track users on Freenet, a system that provides total anonymity to content posters.
Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM), a system that labels each hard drive with a unique identifier, may be incorporated into all new hard drives. The system prevents the transfer of files from a hard disk without the protection to a CPRM-complaint disk. To transfer the files, a user would have to seek permission from central server.
A new study shows that genetic discrimination in the workplace is rising. As a result, employees are reluctant to take important genetic tests that might reveal future medical conditions. Currently, HIPPA prohibits insurance companies from genetic discrimination, however no privacy law prohibits private employers from discriminating based on genetics.
Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act will take effect next year. The new law prohibits the commercial use of personal information without consumer consent.
The Privacy Foundation is developing software to detect "web bugs." Web bugs are imperceptible images placed in web sites. Businesses typically use web bugs to track web browsing habits, however their use is rarely disclosed in privacy policies.
President Clinton will unveil a comprehensive set of medical privacy rules today at the Health and Human Services Department. The rules require that medical service providers obtain written consent from patients before disclosing paper, electronic, or oral records. The rules also give patients the right to inspect and copy their medical records. Patients must also be provided with information-handling practices and have a system to correct errors in their files.
The rules, which carry civil and criminal penalties, take effect in 2003.
Congress passed an appropriations package on Friday, Dec. 15, for Labor-Education, Treasury-Postal, and Legislative Branch spending. This package contained the Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Neighborhood Childrens Internet Protection Act (NCIPA).
CIPA requires schools and libraries to implement filtering technology for computers as a condition of receiving education technology funds, library services funds, or universal service discounts. NCIPA requires schools and libraries with Internet access to hold public hearings in order to develop use policies for material inappropriate for minors.
The review panel chosen by the Justice Department to review the FBI Carnivore system has concluded that the system does not violate privacy or civil liberties. The panel also suggested that FBI release the Carnivore source code, seek Justice Department approval of all comprehensive searches, and modify the system to document all Carnivore activities.
