--------------------------------------------------------------- EPIC DIGEST AT PRIVACY.ORG EPIC-DIGEST is a weekly update of news, information, and action items posted on privacy.org. January 19-25, 2001 TOC------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS FTC Ends DoubleClick Investigation Rotenberg: Governments Should Protect Privacy, Consumer Interests Bush Opts-Out of E-mail Use While in Office Senator Predicts Privacy Legislation Travelocity Exposed Customers' Information Proposed UK Legislation Grants More Power to Police State AGs Argue Against State Preemption on Privacy Legislation More Online Privacy Legislation Introduced ACTION "ENO to ENUM! We are not numbers!" NEWS----------------------------------------------------------- FTC Ends DoubleClick Investigation The FTC ended its investigation into the business practices of DoubleClick, Inc., a large supplier of Internet advertising. The investigation was initiated after EPIC filed a complaint with the FTC alleging that DoubleClick engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices for making representations of anonymity while attempting to link its database with personally-identifiable information from Abacus Direct. In its decision Monday, the FTC did not address EPIC's allegations. FTC letter to Christine Varney, attorney for DoubleClick, January 22, 2001. http://www.ftc.gov/os/closings/staff/doubleclick.pdf EPIC's complaint against DoubleClick, February 2000. http://www.epic.org/privacy/internet/FTC/DCLK_complaint.pdf FTC drops probe into DoubleClick privacy practices, CNET, January 22, 2001. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4563509.html?tag=st.ne.1002.thed.ni FTC clears DoubleClick, The Standard, January 22, 2001. http://www.thestandard.net/article/display/0,1151,21584,00.html F.T.C. Drops DoubleClick Inquiry, New York Times, January 23, 2001 (registration required). http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/23/technology/23DOUB.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Rotenberg: Governments Should Protect Privacy, Consumer Interests Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of EPIC, writes in the current issue of the OECD Observer that governments have a role in protecting consumer and privacy interests but governments should not regulate content, information, or ideas. Confidence and e-commerce, OECD Observer, January 2001. http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/409 --------------------------------------------------------------- Bush Opts-Out of E-mail Use While in Office Citing privacy concerns, President George W. Bush will not use e-mail while in office. Andrew Shen of EPIC commented: "E-mail is very permanent, and the executive office is not covered by the 1974 federal privacy act." Internet Privacy Law Picks Up Steam, Newsfactor, January 22, 2001. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/6892.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Senator Predicts Privacy Legislation Senator Wyden (D-OR) predicts that Congress will send a privacy bill to the President this year. Wyden is calling for legislation that allows private sector initiatives and specifies opt-out choice for consumers. Sen. Wyden Predicts Congress Will Pass a Privacy Bill This Year, Tech Law Journal, January 22, 2001. http://www.techlawjournal.com/privacy/20010122.asp --------------------------------------------------------------- Travelocity Exposed Customers' Information A security breach at Travelocity.com, a popular travel web site, allowed Internet users to view the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of 51,000 members without a password. This security breach is the newest in a series of incidents involving popular web sites such as Egghead.com and Creditcards.com. Jason Catlett, President of Junkbusters, commented: "There's a rush to be first with a new feature and to get the promotion running rather than making sure all of the doors are locked before they open the front gate." Travelocity exposes customer information, CNET, January 22, 2001. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-4564919.html?tag=unkn Travelocity Admits Security Lapse on Web Site, Washington Post, January 23, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36498-2001Jan23.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Proposed UK Legislation Grants More Power to Police The Criminal Justice and Police Bill, currently being considered by the UK government, would broaden police powers to invade the privacy of citizens. The legislation allows an expansion of the DNA database, the copying and storage of computer hard drives, and allows the fining of suspects for certain misdemeanors without performing an arrest. Criminal Justice and Police Bill, UK Home Office Page. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/cjp/cjpmain.htm Privacy Battle Brews in England, Wired News, January 23, 2001. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41352,00.html --------------------------------------------------------------- State AGs Argue Against State Preemption on Privacy Legislation The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) will urge Congress not to pass federal privacy legislation that preempts state efforts to protect privacy. NAAG will argue that consumers and competition will benefit from a scheme where states play an active role in shaping privacy policy. NAAG Homepage. http://www.naag.org/ States to Weigh In on Privacy, The Standard, January 23, 2001. http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21620,00.html --------------------------------------------------------------- More Online Privacy Legislation Introduced Representatives Cannon (R-UT) and Eshoo (D-CA) have introduced federal privacy legislation requiring notice and opt-out for collection of personally-identifying information. The Bill, H.R. 237, the Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act, places no restrictions on what a company can do with consumers' data. H.R. 237, THOMAS Database. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.00237: Congress Takes on Internet Privacy Legislation, Silicon Valley News (Reuters), January 23, 2001. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/792207l.htm Privacy bills emerging at federal and state levels, Computerworld, January 24, 2001. http://computerworld.com/cwi/story/0%2C1199%2CNAV47_STO56843_NLTpm%2C00.html ACTION--------------------------------------------------------- "ENO to ENUM! We are not numbers!" Learn more about ENUM, a system that has the potential to become a global unique identifier. The working proposal is at: http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-enum-rqmts-01.txt The ENUM working group is at: http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/enum-charter.html More information on ENUM is available at: http://www.enumworld.com/ http://www.cybertelecom.org/teleph.htm#enum You can make comments on ENUM to Patrik Faltstrom (paf@cisco.com) or Richard Shockey (rshockey@ix.netcom.com). --------------------------------------------------------------- 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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