--------------------------------------------------------------- EPIC DIGEST AT PRIVACY.ORG EPIC-DIGEST is a weekly update of news, information, and action items posted on privacy.org. November 28-December 18, 2001 TOC------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS Making ID Theft Easy in the West Student Survey Data Sold to Marketers House Passes Protections Against Telemarketers FTC: Online Privacy Policies Apply to Offline Practices Activist Gets $2,000 Judgment Against Spammer SPLC Revamps Online Resources Student Privacy Legislation Likely to be Enacted ACTION Oppose National ID NEWS----------------------------------------------------------- Making ID Theft Easy in the West Two stories from Oregon and California highlight the growing problems with Identity Theft. In Hillsboro, Oregon a man was found with computer discs containing DMV data on thousands of drivers in Oregon. It is not clear if he might have sold this information to other identity thieves. In California the State is responsible for selling the birth records of more than 24 million Californians to a web site that has posted it on the Internet, offering easy access to critical information needed to create fake identities. Senator Cantwell from Washington is introducing legislation in Congress to give consumers more control over their credit record. Update: Company Agrees to remove birth record data from Internet, but only if the affected Californian asks them. Privacy concerns lead Web site to delete birth data by request, San Jose Mercury News, November 30, 2001. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/priv113001.htm Alleged ID Theft Could Affect Thousands In Oregon, Yahoo News, November 28, 2001. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/6000/20011127/lo/985135_1.html State sells birth data to Web site, raising ID theft fears, San Jose Mercury News, November 29, 2001. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/037140.htm Cantwell proposes ID-theft law, Seattle Times, November 27, 2001. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134371416_identity27m.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Student Survey Data Sold to Marketers U.S. high school students who complete surveys intended to help them with college admissions may be unwittingly sending their personal information to marketers. Surveys administered by the National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA) sell the personal information provided to American Student List (ASL). ASL uses the information to inundate young people with credit-card applications, magazine subscription offers, and other marketing. To protect its business, NRCCUA has lobbied Congress in opposition to measures that would create notice and opt-in protections against commercial profiling in schools. College-Survey Firm Quietly Peddles Student Information to Big Marketer, Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2001 (subscription required). http://interactive.wsj.com/archive/retrieve.cgi?id=SB1007345870354311480.djm --------------------------------------------------------------- House Passes Protections Against Telemarketers The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 90, the Know Your Caller Act. The bill, introduced by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R- PA), requires commercial solicitors to send caller ID information to call recipients. The bill also prohibits commercial solicitors from interfering with or circumventing caller ID systems. Individuals who receive telemarketing calls that have missing or blocked caller ID data can sue in their local courthouse for minimum damages of $500. H.R. 90 The Know Your Caller Act of 2001, THOMAS Database. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.00090: House Passes Bill Banning Circumvention of Caller ID, Tech Law Journal, December 5, 2001. http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2001/12/05.asp --------------------------------------------------------------- FTC: Online Privacy Policies Apply to Offline Practices A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) official said at a recent marketing industry meeting that online privacy policies will govern a company’s offline data practices. The FTC may bring an enforcement action against a company if there is a disparity between its online and offline privacy practices, unless the company indicates that its online privacy policy does not apply to offline practices. Online Privacy Policies Apply To Offline Data Practices – FTC, Newsbytes, December 10, 2001. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172848.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Activist Gets $2,000 Judgment Against Spammer Bennett Haselton, anti-filter activist and webmaster of Peacefire.org, has won $2,000 in damages against a spammer under a Washington State law that prohibits certain unsolicited commercial e-mail. Peacefire.org Wins Spam Suits, Newsbytes, December 12, 2001. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172891.html Peacefire.org. http://www.peacefire.org --------------------------------------------------------------- SPLC Revamps Online Resources The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) has revamped its website devoted to student free expression and access to government information. The site includes information for students involved in publishing underground newspapers and information on using state freedom of information laws. SPLC Website. http://www.splc.org SPLC Guide to Surviving Underground, SPLC Resource. http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?id=40 Access to Records, Meetings, and Places, SPLC Resource. http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?maincat=2 --------------------------------------------------------------- Student Privacy Legislation Likely to be Enacted Congress and the President are likely to approve new student privacy protections included in an education reform bill this week. The protections, which have already been approved by the House of Representatives, will grant parents greater control over how commercial interests can use survey instruments to profile schoolchildren. Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) are the primary supporters of the protections. H.R. 1, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, THOMAS Database. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.00001: S. 1., The Better Education for Students and Teachers Act, THOMAS Database. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:SN00001: Marketers May Face Student Data Curbs, Newsbytes, December 18, 2001 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173047.html ACTION--------------------------------------------------------- Oppose National ID National ID systems historically have been used by repressive governments to track citizens. For instance, the South African Government used national identification to enforce apartheid. Now, proposals in the US House and Senate would impose national ID systems on all non-citizens. Soon enough, those national ID systems will be expanded to citizens. Read more about National ID at the EPIC Identity Cards Page http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/ Privacy InternationalŐs National ID Cards Page http://www.privacyinternational.org/issues/idcard/ Read legislative proposals for national ID systems, including: Senator FeinsteinŐs (D-CA) S.1627 Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:s.1627: Senator Kennedy's (D-MA) S.1618 Enhanced Border Security Act of 2001 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:s.1618: Representative Green's (R-TX) Visa Information Security Act of 2001 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.3052:H.R.3052: --------------------------------------------------------------- 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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