This could be Big Mama watching? The State of Kansas is contemplating sticking its nose in you sinus to determine how much over the counter, non-prescription cold medicine you should be allowed to purchase each month. The proposed bill would require all purchasers to record their name with the store at the point of purchase and they would be limited to one purchase per-month, unless they obtain a doctor�s prescription to purchase more non-prescription cold medicine.
The question of whether a stated privacy policy means anything may depend more on the staff responsible for the systems that data is kept than the corporate officers who set policy. How vulnerable are companies to internal threats to customer data or internal communications may be a question that executives should be asking. Consumers need to ask what are the consequences for a company that violates its stated privacy policy.
A bill before the North Dakota legislature would address privacy rights of those who apply for and get licenses to hunt and fish in that state. The state's Game and Fish Department wants to make the information private to protect the privacy for fishers and hunters. The bill is currently before the House Natural Resources Committee, which must approve it prior to it going to the full body for consideration. Currently, it is not private, which allows marketers and politicians pitch their agenda�s or products the list.
The American Civil Liberties Union charges that because the suggested chip for the new U.S. Passport design would be capable of holding as much information as the first personal computers it will be a significant threat to privacy. The new RFID chip would contain all of the information currently displayed on a passport, including a template for an automated facial recognition identification system that has yet to be proven. The information on the chip is not protected by encryption and is reported to be readable from up to 30 feet away.
Happy New Year to California residents who will benefit from three new privacy laws, that went into effect on January 1, 2005. The new laws include exclusion from the planned 411cellphone directory, a right to sue spammers, and a ban on rental car companies tracking the movement of drivers. Thanks to these new laws life in the Golden State will be a little more private.
The European Union's (EU) Article 29 Working Group has decided on a corporate privacy notice standard that companies wishing to engage in e-commerce with its citizens must follow. Their goal is to create corporate privacy notices that are easy for customers to read and compare with the privacy notices of other companies. This would go a long way in helping consumers evaluate the privacy risk associated with engaging in e-commerce with different companies. Because of the borderless nature of the Internet the privacy notices developed to meet the EU's standard may also benefit U.S. customers, although there will be no recourse for them should a company be found in violation of the EU standard.
The Transportation Security Administration requires that all Hazmat drivers undergo background checks. They are being asked once again by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) to protect the privacy of the drivers. The attempt by government to predetermine who is or is not a threat continues to be the weakest part of the war on terror. Without assurances that information will not be misused, privacy will not be violated, and incorrect information can be corrected truckers will continue to resist these demands on their privacy rights.
Sam Club shoppers in the State of Texas may be the first in the nation to take home products that are tagged with RFID tracking technology. The technology is desired by retailers because of its ability to assist with keeping track of items in the retail chain from manufacturer to warehouse. Because of the design of Sam's Clubs, which sales items in bulk in a warehouse setting the tags associated with bulk packaging that would have been removed in traditional retail setting will leave the store with the customers. Unfortunately, most of these shoppers will be unaware of the technology's presence or its significance.
Telemarketers will have a new way to reach out and touch potential customers with the help of a new cellphone 411. Most cellphone users have a good idea how to make sure that friends, colleagues, and family know how to give them a call if they need them, so why is there a need for a 411 directory. Could it be that more and more Americans are using cellphones for all of their telecommunication needs? Either way no one is asking cellphone users whether they think that this is a good idea or not.
Promoting the tagging of people with RFID implants, as a life saving medical device is a slick marketing campaign, but the ultimate use of the recently approved FDA RFID device may have more to do with tracking people and transactions than good health. The FDA's approval of the technology only meant that it could be placed under the human skin; it would not limit its use to only medical purposes.
If its technology then it cannot be wrong seems to be the mantra of the U.S. government. The latest techno wonder is the effort by boarder security officials to recreate passports for U.S. citizens. The plan is to include RFID technology, which according to experts may compromise privacy in ways that travelers would hardly expect. One method would involve a RFID reader hidden on another person that would be able to remotely identify U.S. citizens based on the RFID tag used in domestic IDs. This alone is chilling given the heightened sense of security for U.S. citizens traveling domestically and internationally.
Commercially available technology may make today's youth the most traceable in U.S. history. Between cellphone GPS and RFID technology children growing up in the United States may have not place called private. The fear of violent crime against children is the reason that marketers are using successfully to persuade parents, educators and law enforcement to invest in these gadgets. Parents should know where their children are, but that knowledge should not extend to the state. The technology's broad adoption may not be a guarantee that all children will be safe, but it sure will change the attitudes of these future adults on what is and is not appropriate privacy.
A new rule that would dictate to states how driver licenses and state ID cards must appear is part of the new Intelligence bill that recently became law. The states would be given the option of using the federal standards for identification documents provided to residents, but Federal agencies that provide services or benefits would be prohibited from accepting any identification that did not include the Federal Standards. The federal government can then say that the requirements are not mandatory, while states would have to contend with resident's potentially not receiving their federal benefits should they choose not to comply with the new standards.
The American Civil Liberties Union has admitted to using data-mining to gather a wide variety of information on supporters for fundraising purposes. This has caused a serious debate among ACLU supporters over the commitment of the organization's leadership to privacy issues.
The race is on to place RFID tags in the consumer market place poses some privacy questions for consumers and merchants. The use of tags without clearly defined privacy policies may leave customers with few options should the technology become dominant in the market place. Most consumers would agree that their identity and personal information is not sold or traded at the point of purchase. However, the rapid spread of RFID technology in everyday consumer products may make this a point of debate sooner than later.
Charlotte County and the Southwest Florida Area Agency on Aging say that their efforts to provide assistance to storm victims have been complicated because of privacy concerns expressed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The agency claims that they have no method of connecting those elderly residents who reside in Charlotte County, but have been relocated due to hurricane related damage with local aid agencies. There should be a way of asking victims if they want help and relaying that information to the appropriate agency without violating their right to privacy. The assignment federally or state certified councilors or victim advocates may be helpful in assessing the needs of those who may not be in a condition to make decisions for themselves, such as the very young, ill, injured or elderly. This will most likely not be the last time that global warming causes natural disasters, so FEMA should plan now to address privacy challenges.
In the State of Texas the line between tenant privacy and the right of owner to make frequent visits to their proper is a grey area. The answer to what is legal can be found only in the rental agreements that renters sign. This is because Texas does not have a specific law that governs the right of privacy for renters. There are standard rent agreements that spell out specific circumstances that would allow owners to enter the dwelling, which include making repairs and routine maintenance. These agreements also can spell out whether notice is required before or after these visits.
The Department of Homeland Security is experimenting with a wide ranging computer database that is intended to match a list of 250,000 persons and companies suspected of having ties to terrorism with financial transactions. This is just the most recent effort by domestic law enforcement agencies to employ technology to enhance their ability to engage in surveillance of citizens.
False advertising on the importance of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT) on consumer privacy. Some would like for consumers to belive that the new law provides more consumer privacy because it requires the shredding of paper records after a certain period of time has lapsed. However, the paper records are only one source of consumer privacy concerns. The bulk of privacy violations that involve disclosure of credit card information or customer accounts have come from database records that were not secure enough to prevent illegal access by unauthorized individuals.
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that a mother who listened in on a conversation between her daughter and boyfriend violated their right to privacy. However, this is not where the story began, what many do not know is that the mother was initially approached by law enforcement and asked to spy on the children. Later during a conversation held by the two on a cordless phone in the daughter�s home between the two was overheard by the mother on another extension. During the call the boyfriend disclosed that he had been a party to a purse snatching. The mother reported what she overheard to law enforcement and offered testimony during the trial that lead to a conviction of the boyfriend to second-degree robbery. If this had been a case of a concerned parent coming across information of this nature then the state Supreme Court decision could have been very different.
The American Bar Association (ABA) is set to make recommendations to courts on methods of ensuring greater juror privacy, which include placing limits on what lawyers can ask during pre-trail screening. The recommendations follow an increase in the number of high profile cases, which may have had a chilling effect on the willingness of citizens to participate in the process. The ABA is scheduled to vote on the recommendations in February 2005.
Thousands of new products are being offered to consumers under the heading of making life easier, but some of the technology may also make life less private. Some of the technology includes alert systems that inform users when they are leaving behind wallets, laptops or cellphones, auto updates for laptops and cellphones when leaving the vicinity of a base unit. RFID tags in student ID's that can be use to track punctuality, but could also be used to track the location of the holders on or off campus. One proposal is to include RFID technology in watches. Technology produced without a consideration of the privacy implication s will be the most challenging to privacy watchdogs.
An agreement has been reached between the House and the Senate regarding the management of battlefield intelligence that will allow a vote on a measure to reform domestic intelligence. The bill if successful would put into law many of the 9/11 Commission Recommendations intended to strengthen intelligence gathering, and provide much needed oversight of that work by a civil liberties board to be placed in the White House. The only question remaining is how will the plan actually be executed should it become law.
The lower cost of surveillance technology is making it cheaper for third parties to spy on drivers. The technology�s use in automobiles has the support of law enforcement and prosecutors. The technology is similar to the �black box� technology found on aircraft, which records data that can be used in the event of an accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 30 million of the 200 million cars and trucks on the road are equipped with the device. Privacy advocates argue that drivers should have control over how the technology is used in personal vehicles and should be made aware of its presence in retail vehicles.
The rules for maintaining the health information privacy of patients have changed as of April 14, 2003, when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or (HIPAA), took effect. Now doctor's offices, hospitals, insurance companies and other who handle personally identifiable medical information on a daily basis must have written rules on how the information will be protected. The biggest problem to date with the new law is a lack of broad public awareness. The more people who are aware of HIPPA the more likely that compliance will become the norm.
Don't allow privacy concerns to make you a victim of phishing. Thieves who attempt to impersonate the identity of legitimate financial service companies are using this ploy. Millions of fake security notices are sent daily that look like they come from banks and credit card companies to unsuspecting e-mail users in attempts to gain personal information that they can use to steal from consumers. The schemes send these fake notices about breaches in security then directs customers to websites that request credit, banking or other account information.
How did the IRS peek-a-boo provision get into the recent omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2005? According to Republican House staffer Rich Efford, it was just a matter of good housekeeping. The 19-year hill veteran acknowledged that he was the source of the language that was added to the bill, which resulted in its delayed passage. The House and Senate worked to remove the language from the final legislation, which has been signed by the President. The controversial provision would have allowed leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees to sign letters letting other people see tax returns while visiting I-R-S facilities.
Identity proven by a thumbprint, voiceprint, eye-scan, facial features, and palm print are all part of the landscape of new biometric identification technology. There are warnings that if the technology is not well planned prior to implementation it could be more trouble than help to consumers. Some questions to consider: Are the databases that house this information secure from tampering or theft, and if so to what degree? Will the biometric screening process react to slight changes in the physical features that are compared to the stored static information? Will there be alternative means of proving identity in the case of false negatives? These are some of the questions that privacy advocates are asking while merchants are adopting biometric identification at a rapid pace.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission rejected claims by privacy rights advocates that Amazon's online toy store privacy policy threatens the privacy rights of children. They reached this conclusion by determining that the site is not directed toward children, while privacy rights advocates disagree. Judge for yourself, see: Amazon's Online Toy Store.
A federal government plan to create a database to track student enrollment at colleges and universities is drawing the attention of privacy advocates. Currently colleges and universities only provide tracking information on students receiving federal student aid, and general statistics on enrollment. The plan will allow the National Center for Education Statistics at the Department of Education to receive, analyze and protect personally identifiable student information. They say that they have never been forced to turnover student information to law enforcement in the past.
