« February 2003 | Main | April 2003 »
EPIC has organized a joint letter and online petition to require accuracy for the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the nation's largest criminal justice database. Organizations and individuals are encouraged to sign on by April 7, 2003.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has upheld the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 against a First Amendment challenge. In the case, Missouri v. American Blast Fax, junk fax company Fax.com and Wal-Mart argued that the law violated the First Amendment because it imposes fines upon companies that send fax advertisements without the consent of the recipient.
The case is the latest court victory for opt-in privacy laws.
Missouri v. American Blast Fax, No. 02-2705.
Hackers have obtained the names and Social Security numbers of about 59,000 current and former students, faculty members and staff at the University of Texas at Austin in another large case of potential identity theft. Authorities do not know whether the information has been put to illegal uses such as obtaining credit cards or withdrawing money from financial accounts. The theft illustrates the problem with centralized databases, poor security measures, and ultimately the poor information practices of UT Austin, which needlessly uses the SSN as a unique identifier to link student records.
Hackers steal vital data about UT students, staff Austin American Statesman, March 6, 2003
____________________
Defend Student Privacy.
Opt Out of Marketing:
http://www.opt-out-now.info/
____________________
