QuickLinks - Data Protection (privacy)
recent items
Issue no. 169 - 16 September 2000
Issue no. 168 - 9 September 2000
- "Safe Harbor" decision published
(Official Journal)
Commission Decision of 26 July 2000 pursuant to Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the adequacy of the protection provided by the safe harbour privacy principles and related frequently asked questions issued by the US Department of Commerce OJ L 215 25 August 2000 p 7. see also Decisions re Switzerland and Hungary.
- Judge rules on Toysmart
(AP)
A federal bankruptcy judge declined to place advance conditions on the proposed sale of the customer list of bankrupt Internet toy retailer Toysmart.com.
- Privacy group accused of breaking own rules
(AP)
Truste, an advocacy organization that runs a privacy seal-of-approval program for retail Web sites and shows companies how to write effective privacy policies, itself has tracked Web surfers with means not mentioned in its own privacy policy.
- USA - Contending with COPPA Confusion
(Wired)
Nearly 200 players in the online children's market showed up in Washington, D.C., to get schooled by the FTC on COPPA. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act requires that sites collecting personal information from children under age 13 must obtain parental permission first. Listen to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Public Training Program (hearings.com) and see also Disney May Sponsor Child Internet Privacy Workshop (Newsbytes)
The Federal Trade Commission workshop was so successful that Disney representatives agreed to host a similar event on the West Coast.
Issue no. 167 - 6 August 2000
- Net marketing firm receiving personal information
(AP)
A security and privacy firm that does risk assessments for Internet retailers has found that four retailers, toy retailer Toysrus.com and its babies' products site, Babiesrus.com, and sportswear sites Lucy.com and Fusion.com, are forwarding the personally identifiable information of customers to another firm, Coremetrics, in violation of the retailers' stated privacy policies. Two of the retailers, both sportswear vendors, sport the TRUSTe privacy seal, which is meant to indicate a commitment to customer privacy.
Issue no. 166 - 30 July 2000
Issue no. 165 - 22 July 2000
- Applause for IE's Cookie Catcher
(Wired)
Microsoft is developing a set of features for its Web browser to provide privacy controls for users. The additions for Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser will describe cookies to the user and differentiate between first- and third-party cookies. The browser will then let the user refuse third-party cookies.
- Nearly undetectable tracking device raises concern
(CNET News.com)
A widely used, yet virtually undetectable, means of tracking people's Internet surfing habits, often called Web bugs or 1-pixel gifs, is joining its better-known cousin, the cookie, as the subject of several lawsuits and a privacy initiative by the government. see also The Web Bug FAQ.
- US to defend net privacy
(FT)
The US is set to overhaul the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, extending the same protection to internet and mobile phone messages as applies to telephone calls. The new laws will also shut off loopholes that make it easier for some cable users to escape prosecution for cyber crimes.
- UK - Workplace snooping
(law.com)
John Bowers QC examines an employee's right to respect for his private and family life and his correspondence at work.
- USA - FTC Goes Public With Privacy
(Wired)
FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle predicted election-year pressure could force congress to enact additional privacy laws in the next few months. Swindle is an outspoken foe of regulation-happy bureaucrats, and has dissented on some FTC decisions related to privacy in the past.
- USA - Online stalwarts beef up privacy initiatives
(CNET News.com)
Trying to quell concern over online profiling, several major Internet players are stepping up efforts to give Net surfers more notice about their privacy online.
- USA - Toysmart.com in Settlement With FTC
(New York Times)
Over the continued objections of privacy advocates and attorneys general of 39 states, the Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement to permit Toysmart.com, a defunct online toy seller, to sell its customer database as part of its bankruptcy plan. see also Toysmart sued over customer data sale (AP)
- USA - Web Sites Warned to Comply With Children's Online Privacy Law
(Press Release)
The Federal Trade Commission is sending e-mails to scores of Web sites directed to children to alert them that they must comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its implementing regulations if they are collecting personally identifiable information from children under 13.
- Experts Claim Netscape Browser "Spies" On Users
(Newsbytes)
A class-action lawsuit against America Online, owners of Netscape, claims the company has used the Smart Download Feature to "spy" on browser users as they retrieve certain kinds of files from servers across the Internet. Now a team at German Internet publication tecChannel has confirmed that the system forwards to a Netscape server information on every file it helps users download via the web, even when those files are not hosted on Netscape or AOL servers.
- Privacy Grows Up as CPOs Move In
(Wired)
Internet advertisers and Web executives advised their industry colleagues to fire any lawyer who says not to fret yet over Internet privacy practices. They also had advised to hire a "chief privacy officer".
Issue no. 164 - 15 July 2000
Issue no. 163 - 9 July 2000
- EU rejects U.S. data privacy adequacy
(IDG news)
The European Parliament rejected the current system of U.S. data privacy protection, stating that it does not represent the level of protection required by European legislation because the system of "safe harbor" principles is not yet in place in the U.S.
- USA - Giving Consumers Access to Personal Data
(New York Times)
One online privacy principle has received scant air time recently: giving consumers access to the data collected on them. Still, recent steps within the industry suggest that some companies are heeding the call for access.
- P3P: Green light for online privacy?
(ZDNet.uk)
A new technology known as the Platform for Privacy Preferences, or P3P has been developed by several companies and privacy advocates in conjunction with the standards-setting World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The technology will alert surfers whenever they encounter Web sites that seek to collect more data than the user wants to share. see also A programming language for privacy and Critics say P3P doesn't amount to much (SF Gate).
Issue no. 162 - 2 July 2000
- Failed dot-coms may be selling your private information
(CNET News)
At least three companies that have recently failed, Boo.com, Toysmart and CraftShop.com, have either sold or are trying to sell highly sought-after customer data that could include information such as phone and credit card numbers, home addresses, and even statistics on shopping habits.
- Mattel removes software feature over privacy concerns
(AP)
In response to public complaints about privacy, Mattel Interactive announced the company would provide a tool that removes software that was surreptitiously placed on customers' computers and is designed to transmit and receive information for Mattel.
- USA - Feds' Hands Caught in Cookie Jar
(Wired)
Federal agencies are ignoring stern White House instructions not to use cookies on government websites. Dozens of U.S. government sites, including ones operated by the Justice Department, the Defense Department, and the Energy Department continue sending cookies to the computers of unsuspecting visitors. see also How Congressional Cookies Crumble
Issue no. 161 - 25 June 2000
- Drug Office Ends Web Tracking
(New York Times)
The White House conceded that it might have violated federal privacy guidelines, and it ordered its Office of National Drug Control Policy to stop using a software device that tracks computer users who view the government's antidrug advertisements on the Internet.
- New Technology Is Aimed at Increasing Web Privacy
(New York Times)
Major Internet companies and the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, the Web's standard-setting body, unveiled the Platform for Privacy Preferences, or P3P, some long-awaited technology that would alert computer users before they visited Web sites that collect more personal information than they are willing to share. see also Microsoft embraces tool to boost Web privacy (CNET News.com), Pretty Poor Privacy: An Assessment of P3P and Internet Privacy (EPIC / Junkbusters).
- Policing the Internet
(Intelligent Enterprise)
Bowing to protests from privacy groups, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a statement clarifying the scope of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an automated Internet search system.
- EU - Safe Harbor : la Commission européenne sous pression
(Nouvel Observateur)
La Commission des libertés du Parlement européen a réclamé une révision complète de l'accord Safe Harbor conclu par Bruxelles et Washington. L'élément nouveau est l'extrême sévérité avec laquelle les députés renvoient la Commission à ses chères études.
- Another Industry Group Tackles Online Privacy Problem
(New York Times)
A coalition of high-tech executives and advertising and marketing groups launched yet another effort to try fixing some of the problems on their own. In full-page newspaper advertisements, the more than 20 companies and groups vowed to work closely with consumers to find privacy solutions that really work. (in the same article: Online Crime Summit and Training Sessions Held; see also Reno Asks Cybercrime Victims to Help Government)
Issue no. 160 - 17 June 2000
Issue no. 159 - 11 June 2000
Issue no. 158 - 4 June 2000
- Barnesandnoble.com exposes customer's information
(CNET News.com)
A New Jersey man trying to key in a coupon code at Barnesandnoble.com found himself in another customer's account with access to that person's personal information.
- European Union Approves Data Privacy Accord
(AP)
European Union nations have approved a new data-privacy accord with the United States, and the deal is expected to be completed by early July.
- Germany - Teleservices Data Protection
(BMWi)
Suggested amendments to the "Teleservices Data Protection Act" (TDDSG). The amendments are designed to clarify certain concepts (such as what is "personal data" in the online context), and remove some inconsistencies in the Act which were recently pointed out in a government report. Novelle des Teledienstedatenschutzgesetzes ( TDDSGÄndG), siehe auch Diskussionsentwurf.
- Canada - Ottawa breaks up 'Big Brother' database
(CBC News)
The federal database that some MPs have called "Big Brother" is being dismantled. The system keeps track of hundreds of bits of data. The Privacy Commissioner had said he was concerned about what could happen if the files fell into the wrong hands. see also HRDC Dismantles Longitudinal Labour Force File Databank (Press Release).
- UK - Data Protection Commissioner stops rogue faxes
(out-law)
The Data Protection Commissioner has issued enforcement notices against two companies, 'Second Telecom Limited' and 'Top 20 Limited' who were sending unsolicited faxes in breach of new regulations. Hundreds of complaints were received by the Commissioner from people who received this unwanted marketing material.
- USA - The Web Is Watching You
(Reuters)
In a report released by the Federal Trade Commission, the agency concludes that "Web sites collect a vast amount of personal information from and about consumers." see also New Tracking Tools Make Watching Easier
Issue no. 157 - 28 May 2000
Issue no. 156 - 20 May 2000
more items
Index page see also Security and encryption
QuickLinks
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QuickLinks is edited by Richard Swetenham richard.swetenham@cec.eu.int