The Washington Post reports that ISP giants and rivals Microsoft and AOL are working together to help craft legislation on the federal and state level to fight the uncontrollable tide of spam that plagues their respective subscribers, which total over 140 million. To provide some perspective on the enormity of the problem, AOL alone claims… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2003
FCC Adopts New Rules for High-Speed Net Access
The FCC published a press release on the new rules for network unbundling of incumbent local phone carriers. See this Washington Post article, Vote on Internet Access Favors Phone Companies, for more details, and from the New York Times, High-Speed Service May Cost More. Continue Reading
Virginia Privacy Bill Limits Disclosure of Personal Data
The Virginia House yesterday passed and adopted HB 2426 – Posting certain information on the Internet; prohibitions, in response to growing public concerns about privacy and ID theft. The bill “provides that beginning July 1, 2003, no state agency or court clerk shall post on a state agency or court-controlled website any document that contains… Continue Reading
Sentencing For Computer Related Crimes
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Sentencing Project jointly requested (PDF) that the U.S. Sentencing Commission not increase sentences for federal computer crimes (18 U.S.C. 1030, Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Computers). The Commission is seeking comments as it reviews current guidelines as required… Continue Reading
Book Store Protects Customer Sales Records
A book shop is Montpelier Vermont, Bear Pond Books, instituted a policy to purge the records of customer purchases upon their request. This action was taken in response to provisions of the Patriot Act that allow the government to force disclosure of customer buying records as part of their effort to “enhance domestic security against… Continue Reading
Minnesota Privacy Law Under Attack
Minnesota’s pioneering Internet privacy legislation, S.F. No. 2908, that regulates spam, protects the privacy of Internet consumers and regulates the dissemination of personal data about Internet users, is under attack just as it is scheduled to take effect March 1. AOL and other industry groups are seeking to introduce new legislation to “limit the responsibility… Continue Reading
Bertelsmann Sued By Music Publishers Over Copyright Infringement
Global media publisher Bertelemann, an investor in the pioneering music file swapping company Napster, was sued in federal district court in New York by fellow music publishers, for $17 billion. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, details from the 18 page complaint “allege that Bertelsmann contributed to the wide-scale infringement of their… Continue Reading
FTC Issues Cross Border Fraud Report
The FTC released statistics indicating that consumer complaints related to cross-border consumer fraud almost doubled in 2002. See their 2002 Cross-Border Fraud Trends Report (PDF). Information was compiled from complaints received via the government’s cooperative Consumer Sentinel database, a working partnership that receives input from state, federal and international law enforcement agencies and consumer advocacy… Continue Reading
HIPAA Security Standards Final Rule Published
Please be advised that the new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security standards is a very long PDF document (289 pages). It is the text of the “final Rule adopting HIPAA standards for the security of electronic protected health information to be implemented by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care… Continue Reading
Merits of PA Net Blocking Law Challenged
The Center for Democracy and Technology issued a press release and a report (PDF) contending that a recent Pennsylvania law (18 Pennsylvania Statutes Sec. 7330) requiring ISPs to remove or disable access to Internet pornography upon notification by the state Attorney General violates constitutional principles of due process. The law also results in the blocking… Continue Reading
More on Google and Privacy Issues
From Google Village, this posting, Google, Privacy, Blogs and Alternatives to Search, continues the thread of discussion on growing concerns about powerhouse search engine Google’s approach to privacy issues that some liken to long standing complaints about Microsoft’s products and services. Continue Reading
California Bill on Financial Privacy Moves Forward
SB 1, the California Financial Information Privacy Act, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 18. The bill would require that financial institutions allow customers to exercise the choice of “opting-in” or “opting-out” to determine whether their personal data is shared with affiliated groups, as well as sold to third parties. Continue Reading
