Internet Privacy Protection

US Internet privacy debate heating up
05/11/2007 09:17:00 - by Andrew Beutmueller There is growing demand in the US for an Internet version of the "Do Not Call List" sanctioned by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Several years ago the FTC acted to ban what had become out of control harassing sales calls to wireline phone numbers. There was no recourse for consumers other than having to ignore their persistently ringing phone, usually during the supper hour and throughout the evening.In an atypically uncorrupt and even wise move, the government turned a deaf ear to powerful telemarketing lobby and created a so called "Do Not Call List" forbidding telemarketers from calling listed telephone numbers; it proved extremely popular.You should have heard the howls of protest and seen the public gnashing of capped teeth! Of course the featured argument from marketing companies was the familiar old right-wing laissez faire economic refrain about how overbearing government should not meddle in free markets and kill innovation. And those familiar with Enron or who have traveled on a post-Reagan US airline or Thatcherised British rail know all too well what a BS argument this is, but I digress.On the other side of the issue are numerous consumer and digital privacy rights groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology driving the lobby of a do not track list.All too few of the developments we've witnessed in the Internet space have been focused on how to improve the marketplace for consumer privacy," said Ari Schwartz, Deputy Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
"These policy recommendations offer bold new ideas for a path forward."Pam Dixon, Executive Director of the World Privacy Forum added that self-policing by the online marketing industry is, no surprise, not effective at all. "The industry has had seven years to prove they can manage online opt-outs. It is time to move toward something structured like the Do Not Call list to address the problems we are seeing, and have now seen," said Ms. Dixon.The Internet version of Do Not Call, likely to be called the "Do Not Track
List", would be designed to give users the chance to opt out of advertising schemes that collect and disseminate often-private info and track surfing habits behind the scenes across sites and at a great profit to these third party entities.Recent stats on Internet ad revenues including search, classifieds and "referrals/lead generation" conducted ob behalf of the Interactive
Advertising Bureau (IAB) by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that in Q2 of 2007 netted a record setting US$10 billion or so dollars comprising a 27 per cent in crease over 2006, and at the impressive rate "exceeding the US$5 billion mark for the first time in a quarter.""The recent results demonstrate that advertisers recognize the continued growth in the online audience and the growing opportunity to target and monetize that audience," said Pete Petrusky, Director, Entertainment, Media & Communications Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers in a statement.This is not about banning Internet ad strategies, but putting reasonable limits on insidious practices and barely legal invasions of privacy.
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NOV. 8, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- L. Jean Camp, associate professor in the Indiana University School of Informatics, has published a new book on the ever-growing challenge of identity theft and how to protect personal privacy in the Internet age.

Print-Quality Photo
Economics of Identity Theft: Avoidance, Causes and Possible Cures is an examination of identity management and how individuals and organizations can do a better of job of protecting financial and personal data. The scholarly narrative is woven into helpful tips for daily life, identity theft horror stories and tales of recovery, and easy-to-read descriptions of modern security technologies.

Published by Springer, Camp's book covers both the technical and economic sides of identity theft, and the technology that offers the possibility of ending it. Camp concludes with four startling scenarios that provide an important glimpse into the future of identity theft and efforts to curtail it.

"The two scenarios 'business as usual', and 'ubiquitous identity theft', may seem far apart at the beginning of the book," Camp notes. "However, by the end you see how these two threaten to merge."

A central theme of Economics of Identity Theft: Avoidance, Causes and Possible Cures is that identity is -- more than anything else -- economic, and that the technology used to create, utilize and protect identities is increasingly ill-matched to the economics and uses of identities. Camp argues that in order for us to prove our online identities we must expose personal information, thus illustrating that the near-term search for inexpensive identity management is a formula for long-term fraud resulting in ever-increasing identity theft.

"The problem with identity theft is not a lack of technology; it is a lack of coordination between consumers, businesses, banks and governments," Camp explains. "Each one of us is holding onto a different bit of the elephant, but understanding the solution requires seeing the entire beast."

Economics of Identity Theft: Avoidance, Causes and Possible Cures discusses identity-based signatures, spyware and biometric security, and includes practical individual strategies for preventing identity theft for any reader of any economic status. Anyone with an identity to protect will find the book readable and informative.

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US Official Urges Americans To Reconsider Privacy
Journal written by Jeremiah Cornelius (137) and posted by kdawson on Sunday November 11, @03:49PM
from the we're-from-the-government-and-we're-here-to-pry dept.
Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, a deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguards people's private communications and financial information. "Protecting anonymity isn't a fight that can be won. Anyone that's typed in their name on Google understands that," said Kerr. Kurt Opsahl of the EFF said Kerr ignores the distinction between sacrificing protection from an intrusive government and voluntarily disclosing information in exchange for a service. "There is something fundamentally different from the government having information about you than private parties. We shouldn't have to give people the choice between taking advantage of modern communication tools and sacrificing their privacy." Kerr's comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act, requiring a court order for surveillance on U.S. soil. The White House argued that the law was obstructing intelligence gathering.

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