--------------------------------------------------------------- EPIC DIGEST AT PRIVACY.ORG EPIC-DIGEST is a weekly update of news, information, and action items posted on privacy.org. August 16-21, 2001 TOC------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS UK Resident to Bring Safe Harbor Complaint Against MS Andersen Survey Finds Low Privacy Performance Among US Businesses States Taking Action to Limit Telemarketing Bess Censorware Loophole Discovered ID Theft: Guide to Becoming a Victim ACTION Promote the Privacy of Domain Name Registrants NEWS----------------------------------------------------------- UK Resident to Bring Safe Harbor Complaint Against MS A UK resident is planning to ask the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether the Microsoft Passport system violates the EU-US safe harbor agreement. U.K. Resident To Name Microsoft In FTC Privacy Complaint, Newsbytes, August 16, 2001. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/169104.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Andersen Survey Finds Low Privacy Performance Among US Businesses A survey of 75 cooperate web sites performed by Andersen Consulting found that none was in compliance with international privacy standards. Web Sites Fail Global Privacy Test, CNET (Reuters), August 16, 2001. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6892337.html?tag=owv --------------------------------------------------------------- States Taking Action to Limit Telemarketing Two dozen states have enacted laws that create telemarketing do not call lists or restrict telemarketers from blocking caller id. States Ring In Do Not Call Laws, Stateline, August 16, 2001. http://www.stateline.org/story.cfm?storyid=141685 --------------------------------------------------------------- Bess Censorware Loophole Discovered According to a recent report by Seth Finkelstein, N2H2šs Bess Internet filtering software contains a loophole that blocks certain sites due to program limitations. The loophole automatically blocks sites that provide anonymity, privacy, language and language translation services. BESS's Secret LOOPHOLE (censorware vs. privacy & anonymity), by Seth Finkelstein. http://sethf.com/anticensorware/bess/loophole.php --------------------------------------------------------------- ID Theft: Guide to Becoming a Victim Michael Hyatt has published an article detailing the prevalence, costs, and high-risk behaviors associated with identity theft. The high-risk behaviors include: sharing the Social Security Number (SSN), losing onešs wallet or purse, receiving bills and credit card offers at a home mailbox, discarding paper with personal information in the trash, neglecting to check credit reports, failing to opt-out of financial information sharing, and choosing poor passwords to secure bank accounts and personal data. How to Become a Victim of Identity Theft, Moreprivacy.com, August 19, 2001. http://www.moreprivacy.com/editorials/identity.htm ACTION--------------------------------------------------------- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is conducting a survey on the Whois database. The Whois database contains contact information of all persons who have registered domain names. In its current form, the database prevents the anonymous registration of domain names and it exposes registrants' personal information to the public where it is often either sold or "mined" for commercial purposes. Tell ICANN to limit the amount of information required by the Whois database and to promote the ability to register a domain name anonymously! ICANN Whois Survey. http://www.icann.org/dnso/whois-survey-en-10jun01.htm EPIC Letter on Privacy of Domain Name Registration Data. http://www.epic.org/privacy/internet/ICANN_privacy.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Privacy.org is a joint project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (http://www.epic.org) and Privacy International (http://www.privacyinternational.org). For more information, e-mail Chris Hoofnagle at digest-editor@privacy.org. --------------------------------------------------------------- How to unsubscribe from EPIC-DIGEST: You can leave the EPIC-DIGEST by entering the subscription e-mail address at http://www.privacy.org/digest.php and selecting "unsubscribe." Or, you can send a blank e-mail message to EPIC-DIGEST@lists.epic.org from the subscribed address with the following text in the subject line: unsubscribe If you experience difficulty with subscription issues, send a message to digest-editor@privacy.org. --------------------------------------------------------------- EPIC-DIGEST Privacy Policy: http://www.privacy.org/privacy.php --------------------------------------------------------------- END EPIC-DIGEST