"To better server our customers" rarely means that it is in the customers best interest. So SBC customers be forewarned the company is serving you as it changes its privacy policy to allow sharing of customer information with SBC's family of companies. The action was taken according to SBC to clarify the sharing of information with affiliate companies, but nothing in the stated policy said that information would be shared.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation sent the Wireless 411 Privacy Act and the SPY BLOCK (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) Act to the full Senate for consideration. Both bills would increase consumer privacy: one would help cellphone customers keep their numbers private, and the other bill would offer relief to computer users from having spyware technology installed on their machines without their consent by vendors.
The U.S. House of Representatives has joined the Senate in passing a bill that would extend privacy protection against video voyeurism. The bill makes it a crime to engage in illicit photography and "cyber peeking" on federal property. Should the bill become law the maximum fines would be $100,000 with possible jail time for violators. The spread of photographic technology, which now includes cellphones and digital cameras has resulted in an increase in complaints as well as efforts by local and state law enforcement to punish this type of privacy invasion tactic has increased.
The badly kept secret is now official government policy airlines are being ordered to turnover passenger data for the month of June. The Transportation Security Administration will use the information to test its secure flight program. The program is designed to prescreen airline passengers against a list of suspected terrorist or their aliases. The current system of airline passenger screening is faulted for numerous errors that have inconvenienced travelers, including a member of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The Department of Transportation determined that Northwest Airlines did not violate its privacy policy when it disclosed airline passenger data to the Federal government. The privacy complaint was filed against the airline by the Electronic Privacy Information Center for engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices for violating its stated customer privacy policy. Northwest privacy policy is not to sell customer information and that it shares customer data in limited specific cases. The airline shared three months worth of passenger data with the government.
The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA is faulted by healthcare providers for their need to record customer calls. The law requires that healthcare providers not disclose patient medical information, without their consent. It is reported that insurance companies are recording calls as a means of protecting themselves from claims of improperly disclosing patient medical information. Healthcare insurance companies and other healthcare providers are employing a automated telephone system that will record all customer calls.
The Indiana State Constitution protects a woman�s right to privacy when seeking to have an abortion according to an appeals court. The ruling did not address the core of the case, which challenged state legal requirements for those seeking abortions. The law requires that women seeking abortions must first receive counseling about risks as well as options, and wait 18 hours before having the procedure.
Starting Monday, September 27, 2004 airline passengers will be facing additional security screening before being allowed to board airplanes. The new passenger security requirements expand the discretionary authority of Transportation Security Agency personal to refer passengers for extra scrutiny, require passengers to remove jackets, and under go pat-downs when screeners consider it warranted. These pat-downs will go beyond the current limit of just arms and legs to include areas that the screeners think looks suspicious.
Northwest Airlines violated passenger privacy when it shared passenger information with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which sought to information to research data mining applications. A federal judge, however, dismissed the privacy lawsuit filled in North Dakota on the grounds that the airlines actions did not violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, because the act only applied to Internet service providers or telecommunications companies. The judge also rejected plaintiffs changes that Northwest Airlines violated its privacy posted on its Web site when it shared the information. This is the second lawsuit on this matter that has been dismissed in federal court.
The Observer, a Dallas Texas alternative weekly newspaper is being sued for reporting the HIV status of a resident. They are charged with breaking a state law that prohibits the disclosure of health information without the patients consent. The newspaper is arguing that the law only applies to hospitals and insurance companies. A court date is set for October 19, 2004.
The emerging threat presented by digital technology that is small and affordable has forced local and state legislative efforts to aggressively protect the privacy rights of citizens. In 2003, Stephanie's Law went into effect in the State of New York. The law makes it a felony to use any means of reproduction or recording to invade the privacy of someone who has reasonably expectation of privacy. For those who are victimized by invasion of privacy are encouraged to contact the Cornell Advocacy Center in Tompkins County New York at 607-277-3203 for assistance.
In response to the scare over "mad cow disease" the U.S. Department of Agriculture is holding a series of public hearings around the country to allow feedback on the creation of a national animal ID system. The system is intended to track cattle at every step of their existence all the way to grocery stores or restaurants. The goal is to within 48 hours of the discovery of a disease threat to have identified where the animal had been and every potential contact. It is hoped that such a system would facilitate rapid response of containment efforts and prevent panic.
Albertson's Inc. and its pharmacy units, SavOn, Osco and Jewel-Osco were sued by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based privacy advocacy group for violating customer privacy. The suit charges that the chain store illegally used confidential customer information in marketing campaigns on behalf of large drug companies. Albertson�s is accessed of misusing data collected in the prescription filling process. The suit also lists "co-conspirators" and "abettors" which include some of the largest drug companies.
The Kentucky attorney general ruled police reports that record injures or contain medical information are not protected under the federal law, Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, which went into effect last year. The ruling would allow the release of the identity of individuals and medical information recorded by police. Texas has the only other attorney general to file a ruling on this issue. That decision ruled that state public information laws took precedence over HIPPA.
The 3rd Appellate Court of California said that the Fair Political Practices Commission could sue the University of California Regent Ward Connerly's American Civil Rights Coalition to gain access to a list of major financial backers of Proposition 54 an initiative on racial privacy. The Coalition contributed $1.9 million to the initiative drive, which failed to pass.
A Metropolitan State College political science professor was disciplined after disclosing personal information on a student. The student had charged that they had dropped a class taught by the professor out of fear of making a bad grade because of membership in a campus Republican organization. In response to this charge, the professor reportedly disclosed publicly that the student dropped the class because they were not doing well, which violated the student's privacy.
Poll finds that church members oppose the sharing of membership lists with political campaigns. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has targeted church lists in this year's election as a source of potential support. They solicited assistance in obtaining lists from Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics who support President Bush. The RNC argues that the church lists are public information and available to anyone.
People are registering fingerprint and eye scans to become members of the new Transportation Security Administration Trusted Traveler Program. The program has little to do with security and a lot to do with keeping routine air travelers happy by making their waits for boarding airplanes much shorter. No assurances about what additional uses may be found for the information being collected or whether someone may remove himself or herself from the program.
Cranston Rhode Island Fire Fighters are to sign a waiver stripping them of medical privacy if they are hurt on the job. The city�s major said that signing the waiver would be a condition of receiving medical treatment should a fire fighter be injured on the job. The waiver would cover pass and future health records. The fire Fighters are asking that the city council intervene in the dispute.
RFID technology's use on inanimate objects is still under debate, but there is a debate emerging to expand their use to people. Supporters argue that it would save lives, while detractors argue that it would make it too easy to track people as they move throughout society. Challenges to the use of RFID technology in off the shelf items have lead to the alteration or cancellation of retail plans.
Civil liberty and privacy advocates came to the defense of the homeless. They responded to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) announcement of their Homeless Management Information Systems, a plan to collect data on people served by homeless shelters. HUD officials stated that their interest was in collecting aggregate data to determine if the capacity of programs serving the homeless was adequate. Last year HUD spent $23 million for 142 data collection projects.
A debate in Marion Illinois over whether the public disclosures of the names and grades of those students who meet the requirements of honor roll systems violate the student�s right to privacy. The honor roll still valued as a status symbol of academic achievement is used by most public and private school systems to evaluate student performance. The information made public includes the student's name, grade, and academic ranking based on some set of criterion.
The addresses of two Mount Vernon Ohio Police Officers were made public after a complaint against the two was filed. The complaint was part of a police misconduct lawsuit filed following an arrest made by the two officers. Routinely the names of officers and those filling charges against them are made public, but in this case the officers� home addresses were also released.
Indiana announced that time is running out to opt-in to the state's do not call registry for unwanted telemarketing efforts. Indiana's Attorney General says that their state law is the toughest in the nation and it is credited with reducing the volume of calls to registrants by as much as ten each week. The state registry has over 60,000 phone numbers listed. To register phone numbers on Indiana's do not call registry residents of that state can call 888-834-9969. Use this link to register for the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call National Registry.
