--------------------------------------------------------------- EPIC DIGEST AT PRIVACY.ORG EPIC-DIGEST is a weekly update of news, information, and action items posted on privacy.org. July 17-24, 2001 TOC------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS Activists Plan a Jam Echelon Day Privacy Coalition Meets with FTC Chair Muris P3P: A Flawed Approach to Internet Privacy Governments Can Control the Internet Pervasive Computing in Washington Schools LifeMinders Database to be Purchased by Direct Marketer Censorware Project Founder Featured in New York Times Justice Dept. to Create 10 Computer Crime Units Biometric Technologies Featured in Op-ed Junk Faxer Receives $12 Million Fine Financial Institutions Release Private Data Court: Prisoners Have Right to Medical Privacy CIPA Challenge to go to Trial House Requires Reports on Carnivore ACTION Promote the Privacy of Domain Name Registrants NEWS----------------------------------------------------------- Activists Plan a Jam Echelon Day Net activists plan to attempt to "Jam" the Echelon surveillance system on October 21, 2001. Echelon is a global communications surveillance system operated by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Its capabilities are classified, however, it is suspected that Echelon can monitor phone, Internet, e-mail, and satellite communications worldwide. Jam Echelon Day 2001. http://echelon.oregonwebdesign.com/ Echelon Watch. http://www.echelonwatch.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------- Privacy Coalition Meets with FTC Chair Muris Members of the Privacy Coalition, a nonpartisan group of consumer, civil liberties, educational, family, library, labor, and technology organizations, met with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris. The Coalition urged Muris to create a dedicated complaint handling system for privacy violations with detailed annual reporting, to store privacy complaints in the Consumer Sentinel database, and to revise the agencyıs view of "unfair and deceptive practices" as they apply to privacy cases. Privacy Coalition Letter to FTC Chairman Muris, EPIC Web Site, July 17, 2001. http://www.epic.org/privacy/muris_letter.html FTC Urged To Go Public On Privacy Investigations, Newsbytes, July 17, 2001. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/168047.html Privacy Coalition Lobbies FTC for Stricter Privacy Enforcement, Tech Law Journal Daily Report, July 18, 2001. http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2001/07/18.asp --------------------------------------------------------------- P3P: A Flawed Approach to Internet Privacy A recently published article in the Internet Law Journal describes the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) protocol and weaknesses inherent in the system. P3P - An Imperfect Tool for Privacy, The Internet Law Journal, July 2001. http://www.tilj.com/content/ecomheadline07140102.htm P3P Re-visited, Privacy Law & Policy Reporter, April 2001. http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/P3PRev.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Governments Can Control the Internet A study conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace concludes that authoritarian governments can and have controlled political speech on the Internet. Authoritarian governments have controlled this speech through limiting Internet access, filtering content, and monitoring Internet use. The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes: China, Cuba, and the Counterrevolution, Carnegie Endowment Report. http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/wp21.asp Report: Internet not a threat to repressive states, Siliconvalley.com (Reuters), July 17, 2001. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/016005.htm --------------------------------------------------------------- Pervasive Computing in Washington Schools Hewlett Packard (HP) is developing "pervasive computing," a system where all objects, including humans, will have a web presence. The project, called HP Cooltown, sends custom services to individuals based on consumer profiling. School Administrators in Vancouver, Washington are incorporating the system into classrooms in order to provide personalized learning experiences. In addition, Cooltown will automatically serve students personalized information when they enter the library or log on to the Internet. HPıs Cooltown to extend pervasive computingı into schools, eSchool News, July 18, 2001. http://www.eschoolnews.com/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=2833 --------------------------------------------------------------- LifeMinders Database to be Purchased by Direct Marketer LifeMinders, an e-mail marketing company with 20 million subscribers, is being purchased by Cross Media, a direct marketing company. Cross Media will use the data to send advertisements by postal mail, e-mail, and voicemail to subscribers. N.Y. Marketing Firm To Buy LifeMinders Deal Raises Privacy Questions About Data, Washington Post, July 20, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23914-2001Jul19.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Censorware Project Founder Featured in New York Times Seth Finkelstein, a founder of the Censorware Project, is featured in the New York Times for his activism in revealing the flaws in Internet content filters. Cracking the Code of Online Censorship, New York Times, July 19, 2001 (registration required). http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/technology/circuits/19HACK.html? --------------------------------------------------------------- Justice Dept. to Create 10 Computer Crime Units Attorney General John Ashcroft has announced a plan to create the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) units. CHIP will be a system of ten offices concentrating on the prosecution of computer crime. Attorneys in the units will be trained to prosecute computer intrusion, copyright violations, and fraud on the Internet. Justice Dept. Creates Anti-'Hacking' Units, Newsbytes, July 20, 2001. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/168195.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Biometric Technologies Featured in Op-ed The Washington Post has published an opinion-editorial examining biometric identifications such as facial recognition, fingerprinting, and DNA databases. Overmatched by Technology, Washington Post, July 22, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29209-2001Jul20.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Junk Faxer Receives $12 Million Fine A class-action suit against Hooters, a restaurant chain, for sending "junk faxes" has resulted in a $12 million judgment. Hooters, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, sent unsolicited fax messages to over 1,300 individuals in Augusta, Georgia. Dispute Over Ads Draws Wide Scrutiny After Award, New York Times, July 22, 2001 (registration required). http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/national/22FAX.html? --------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Institutions Release Private Data A review of polices at banks, mutual fund companies, and credit card companies shows that many financial institutions release confidential account information with inadequate security measures. Many financial institutions are using commonly available authenticators, such as the Social Security Number and motherıs maiden name as passwords. This article also describes the identity theft case of James Rinaldo Jackson. Jackson purchased $750,000 in jewelry using money acquired from affluent personsı bank accounts. Jackson gained access to the accounts by purchasing Social Security Numbers from information brokers and using the identifiers to access credit card and bank accounts. Concerns for ID Theft Often Are Unheeded, Washington Post, July 23, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27475-2001Jul20.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Court: Prisoners Have Right to Medical Privacy The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that prisoners have a constitutional right to medial privacy. In the case, prison officials allowed inmates to overhear conversations between a prisoner with HIV and health care providers. Winning the Battle, Losing the War Civil rights plaintiff's defeat is victory for those who follow, The Legal Intelligencer, July 23, 2001. http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/nwlink.cgi?ACG=ZZZIFFOOEPC Doe v. Delie, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinions/993019.txt --------------------------------------------------------------- CIPA Challenge to go to Trial The Chilrenıs Internet Protection Act of 2000 (CIPA) will be challenged in a full trial to be held in February 2002. CIPA requires public libraries and schools that receive E-rate funding to install Internet content filters. Challengers to the statute, including ACLU, ALA, and EPIC, argue that CIPA will restrain access to protected expression. Kid Porn Bill Slogs to Court, Wired (Reuters), July 23, 2001. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45483,00.html --------------------------------------------------------------- House Requires Reports on Carnivore The House of Representatives has passed a Department of Justice spending bill that will require the agency to submit reporting on the Carnivore system. The reporting requirements include information on how many times Carnivore has been used, the approval process and criteria for employing the system, and what unauthorized information has been captured by the system. H.R.2215, 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, THOMAS Database. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.2215: House pulls Carnivore into the light, ZDNet, July 23, 2001. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5094558,00.html?chkpt=zdnnp1tp02 U.S. House overwhelmingly approves Carnivore review, Declan McCullaghıs Politechbot.com, July 23, 2001. http://www.politechbot.com/p-02295.html 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 registrants1 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." 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