Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that he will reduce the length of time that the government can retain records on instant background checks for firearm purchasers. Under the new plan, the government will hold instant check records for one day.
The Center for Digital Democracy reports that the interactive television industry is deploying new technologies that will collect personal information from TV viewers. The interactive television industry will combine viewer information, including age, employment, income, and parental status, with viewing habits to create detailed profilers of TV viewers.
A new program called "Admail" has the ability to scan users� e-mail communications and target advertisements based on message content. Admail places an advertisement directly in the e-mail of the user.
Privacy Rights Now is urging consumers to take action on financial privacy. The group is asking individuals to opt-out of financial information sharing and to write Congress in support of stronger privacy legislation.
EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg will testify today before the House Commerce Committee on Information Privacy. Rotenberg will urge Congress to enact strong privacy legislation and encourage the development of technological solutions.
Attorney General John Ashcroft has ordered a review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in light of high-profile errors that have tarnished the reputation of the top law enforcement agency. The Strategic Management Council, a group composed of government officials, will perform the review.
The number of identity thefts as reported by financial institutions more than doubled in 2000. The Treasury Department Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FINCEN) reported that 617 incidents of identity theft occurred during an 11 month period in 2000. Only 267 occurred in 1999.
Acme Rent-A-Car, a company in Connecticut, has installed AirIQ Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in its fleet of rental cars. AirIQ GPS monitor the vehicle�s speed and can automatically fine the driver for exceeding the speed limit.
U.S. News and World Report has published an interview with Larry Ponemon, a former auditor of privacy practices with Pricewaterhouse-Coopers. In the interview, Ponemon recounts invasions of privacy perpetuated by American companies. These include a major hotel chain that collects and shares information on movie titles rented by guests, maintenance of massive collections of consumer profiles that often contain inaccurate information, companies that collect medical test data and profile consumers based on health conditions, and chat room operators who guarantee anonymity to users but secretly track them and reveal their anonymous communications to employers. Poneman concludes that most companies don�t take privacy seriously.
Digital Angel, a company that develops location-tracking technology, is ready to begin testing on devices that monitor humans. The devices can monitor health conditions and location. Developers of the technology envision the tracking devices becoming a tool for verification of identity.
The European Union (EU) has approved standard contract clauses that can be added to legal agreements to enhance individuals� privacy. The clauses were developed to ensure responsible transfer of personal data to businesses located in countries where privacy protections are inadequate.
The Senate has passed legislation that will require schools to give notice and obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from students for commercial purposes. The legislation, the Student Privacy Protection Act, was introduced as Senate bill 290 earlier this year. The legislation passed as an amendment to Senate bill 1, an education measure that passed last week.
The FBI has abandoned attempts to subpoena the web logs of an Independent Media Center news site. Federal agents attempted to obtain the web logs of all visitors to the site in order to discover who posted secret police security plans during the Quebec free-trade protests in April.
Representative Armey (R-TX) has urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to reconsider use of the Carnivore Internet surveillance system. In a letter, Armey argues that the recent Supreme Court decision in Kyllo v. United States raises new Constitutional questions with the use of Carnivore.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will organize protests against privacy-invasive companies on a monthly basis. This month, EFF is protesting the Macy�s department store. Macy�s online store, including the bridal registry, collects and shares consumers� name, address, birth date, and credit card number with other companies.
Cable and satellite companies will begin targeting advertising based on viewer age, sex, race, income, and viewing habits later this year. One cable company, AT&T will target advertising based on subscriber records and through consumer profiling databases.
The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is requesting feedback on privacy concerns regarding the Whois database. The Whois database contains the names and contact information of all persons who have registered a domain name. The current structure of the database and domain registration process prevents the anonymous purchase of a domain name. In addition, the database is often mined by unscrupulous commercial interests that use the registration information for spam and marketing.
Microsoft intends to bundle an Internet phone in Windows XP, its newest operating system. The "intelligent phone" may be able to route calls to individuals through "Hailstorm" technology, which allows the network to detect a user�s presence at a device. Microsoft�s phone may be an attempt to compete with ENUM, a new standard that links a single number to multiple points of contact information.
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Junkbusters Corp. now offer sample letters that enable to sender to opt-out from information sharing under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
The Supreme Court ruled today that police use of a thermal image device constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. In Kyllo v. United States, police used a heat-sensing device to determine that a resident was using high-power lamps to grow marijuana. Kyllo attempted to exclude evidence inferred from the use of the imaging device by arguing that use of the device constituted a warrantless search. The Court�s decision will require police to obtain a warrant before employing thermal imaging devices in the future.
The June issue of the Internet Law Journal covers the class action lawsuit against DoubleClick and challenges to internet filtering requirements under the Children�s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
ACLU, Privacy International, and EPIC have urged European Commission and the US government to add privacy and civil liberties protections to the Council of Europe Cybercrime Treaty.
At a House Judiciary hearing, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the Department of Justice would vigorously pursue online obscenity cases. Ashcroft also said that the prosecution of cybercrime would be a priority under the Bush Administration.
New freeware developed by the Privacy Foundation can detect web bugs. Web bugs are imperceptible graphics on web pages or embedded in e-mail that are designed to collect user data. The program, Bugnosis, is a plug-in to the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser.
"Enhanced 911" service alerts police to the location of a mobile phone when the user dials 911. This location tracking technology may increase safety, but it may also enable marketers, government, and others to monitor the travels of persons who use wireless devices. Wireless industry groups are considering an opt-in standard for commercial tracking of mobile devices to address privacy problems.
A recent audit of Defense Department web sites by the Office of Inspector General showed that the pages employed unauthorized cookies and web bugs. Many of the sites lacked a privacy policy.
Doubleclick, a large advertising and profiling company, is seeking public comment on its new privacy policy. The new policy explains Doubleclick�s use of cookies and how an Internet user can opt-out of Doubleclick�s profiling.
State Department employees have formed a group to protest random drug testing in the agency. The group, named Defenders of the Fourth Amendment, argues that random drug testing is not a cost-effective deterrent and that it constitutes an invasion of personal privacy.
