--------------------------------------------------------------- EPIC DIGEST AT PRIVACY.ORG EPIC-DIGEST is a weekly update of news, information, and action items posted on privacy.org. August 21-28, 2001 TOC------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS Official Secrets Act Considered Again by Congress CCHC Releases Medical Privacy Forms CA Privacy Bills Moving in Assembly FBI Harassed Senator Gore Sr. Judge Orders Removal of Medical Records from the Net Federal Judge Allows Release of Cable Records MS Lobbies Washington on Passport Gartner Research: P3P Will Not Fix Passport Privacy Problems Info Brokers Profit from Personal Information NYC Voter Registration Records Online Carnivore to Target Wireless Messaging Consumers Reject MS Passport Judge Warns that Monitoring Will Endanger Confidentiality Poll: AOL, MS Not Trusted Egghead Attempting to Transfer Customer List to Fryıs Borders Books Spying on UK Customers --------------------------------------------------------------- Official Secrets Act Considered Again by Congress The Senate Intelligence Committee again is considering the Official Secrets Act, legislation that prohibits the disclosure of classified information by federal employees. Thomas Blanton, Director of the National Security Archive, argues in the New York Times that the Act will close government from citizen scrutiny and chill speech. Keeping Secrets at Too High a Price, New York Times, August 22, 2001 (registration required). http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/22/opinion/22BLAN.html? National Security Archive. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/ --------------------------------------------------------------- CCHC Releases Medical Privacy Forms Citizensı Council on Health Care (CCHC) has published privacy declaration forms for public use. The forms explain individualsı rights under law and contain a statement to give to companies detailing preferences for handling health, medical, and financial data privacy. Medical Privacy Declaration Forms, CCHC Web Site. http://www.cchconline.org/fortherecord.php3 --------------------------------------------------------------- CA Privacy Bills Moving in Assembly Two California Assembly committees voted to approve new legislation that would restrict the sale of personal financial information and telemarketing business practices. Consumer privacy bills get a boost in Assembly, San Francisco Chronicle, August 22, 2001. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/08/22/ MN205476.DTL&type=printable --------------------------------------------------------------- FBI Harassed Senator Gore Sr. New documents released from the FBI show that agency used its powers to monitor and spread rumors about Senator Albert Gore, Sr. Hoover's FBI, Taking Aim At Al Gore Sr. Years-Long Vendetta Waged Over Senator's Hostility, Washington Post, August 23, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48873-2001Aug22.html The COINTELPRO Papers, Documents From the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States by Ward Churchill & Jim Vander Wall. http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointel.htm --------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Orders Removal of Medical Records from the Net A Illinois state judge has ordered three anti-abortion activists to remove from the medical records of a patient from the Internet. The patient had experienced complications from an abortion, and the anti-abortion activists had obtained medical records of the incident and posted them online. Judge Keeps Woman's Records Off Net, Yahoo News (AP), August 23, 2001. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010823/tc/abortion_internet_2.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Federal Judge Allows Release of Cable Records A Federal Judge in New York has ordered a cable company to provide a subscriberıs records to law enforcement officials without notifying the subscriber. The court held that the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 does not require notice to the subscriber before law enforcement receives information on when the subscriber accessed the Internet and the volume of data transferred over the cable connection. Cable-Based Internet Provider Cannot Reveal Federal Probe, New York Law Journal, August 23, 2001 (cookies required). http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/nwlink.cgi?ACG=ZZZ5C1JRPQC --------------------------------------------------------------- MS Lobbies Washington on Passport Microsoft (MS) has made an appearance in Washington with the Center for Democracy and Technology in order to quell notions that the Passport system will harm privacy and security. Microsoft defends Passport in Washington, CNET, August 22, 2001. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6946744.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Gartner Research: P3P Will Not Fix Passport Privacy Problems Arabella Hallawell, a Gartner research analyst writes that enabling P3P on Passport sites will offer no real benefit to consumers. Further, the inclusion of P3P in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 was intended to prevent privacy legislation from Congress. Commentary: Passport needs better privacy, CNET (Gartner), August 23, 2001. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-6952893-0.html?tag= st.ne.ni.gartnerbox.gartnercomm --------------------------------------------------------------- Info Brokers Profit from Personal Information Business and information brokers are selling individualsı personal information on their prescription drug purchases, credit information, civil and criminal legal information, professional licenses, property ownership, marriage and divorce records, and retail purchases. This information is culled from public records, catalog and online purchases, credit reports, product warranty cards, and consumer surveys. Jason Catlett, of Junkbusters, estimates that a typical consumerıs name and address is held by 500 different companies. Customer Data Means Money, Information Week, August 20, 2001. http://www.informationweek.com/thisweek/story/IWK20010816S0008 --------------------------------------------------------------- NYC Voter Registration Records Online New York City voter registration records that include votersı home addresses and party affiliations are now online. Many New Yorkers have requested that their information be removed from the online database. As Public Records Go Online, Some Say They're Too Public, New York Times, August 24, 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/24/nyregion/24VOTE.html Registered to Vote or Not.com. http://www.registeredtovoteornot .com Connecting the Dots Between Public Records Databases, Privacy Foundation, August 28, 2001. http://www.privacyfoundation.org/commentary/tipsheet.asp? id=51&action=0 --------------------------------------------------------------- Carnivore to Target Wireless Messaging Federal law enforcement officials may expand the Carnivore Internet monitoring system to include the ability to capture wireless telephone messages. If Carnivore is expanded, it will likely result in the FBI capturing many messages that are not germane to law enforcement investigations. FBI's Carnivore Might Target Wireless Text, Washington Post, August 24, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54155-2001Aug23.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Consumers Reject MS Passport The Gartner research firm has found that Internet users are rejecting the Microsoft Passport system because they believe that it could lead to a loss of privacy. Gartner found that only 11% of Internet users believe that Passport will enhance user experience. Further, the group found that 90% of online consumer are not interested in exchanging personal information for personalization. Report: Consumers Nix Microsoft Passport, Yahoo News, August 23, 2001. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nf/20010823/tc/13038_1.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Warns that Monitoring Will Endanger Confidentiality Edith H. Jones, a Federal Judge on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, has written a letter to the Judicial Conference objecting to plans to routinely monitor all Internet use of the federal courts. Judge Jones warns that this monitoring may compromise confidentiality and cause unease among judicial employees. Letter to Judicial Conference, Cryptome. http://cryptome.org/jones-v-cat.htm Judge Slams Monitoring Of Court Staff Web Use, Newsbytes, August 23, 2001. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/169357.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Poll: AOL, MS Not Trusted Polling firm Harris Interactive reports that Internet consumers harbor distrust against America Online (AOL) and Microsoft (MS), and The poll found that 37% of respondents had a high level of distrust for AOL. 29% reported a high level of distrust for MS. Poll: Many Distrust AOL, Washington Post, August 24, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54723-2001Aug23.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Egghead Attempting to Transfer Customer List to Fryıs Egghead.com, an online electronics store currently in bankruptcy, is attempting to sell its customer lists to Fryıs Electronics. The transfer violates the Egghead.com privacy policy, and Fryıs may cancel the sale if 10% of former Egghead.com customers opt out of the information sharing. Egghead sale could crack on privacy issues, CNET, August 24, 2001. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-6962164.html?tag=owv --------------------------------------------------------------- Borders Books Spying on UK Customers Borders Book shop, a large bookselling retail chain, has employed facial recognition technology to monitor its customers at UK stores. The facial recognition cameras are being used to identify known shoplifters present in the stores. Big Borders bookshop is watching you, Sunday Herald, August 26, 2001. http://www.sundayherald.com/18007 Borders Books kills face-scanning plan amid criticism, Computerworld, August 27, 2001. http://www.computerworld.com/storyba/0,4125,NAV47_STO63359,00.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." 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