Can Privacy Rights Survive?

When it comes to privacy, ever more intrusive collection technologies are
being rolled out, such as online tracking mechanisms, spyware, face
recognition systems, location tracking devices and even thermal imaging, a
Senate Commerce Committee panel was told today.


And, Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters.com and a visiting fellow at the
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, said in a written statement that
“advances in ‘cloaking’ technologies are always outstripped by advances in
collection technologies, both in capabilities and degree of adoption.”


Also today, the American Civil Liberties Union and House Majority Leader Dick
Armey, R-TX, issued a joint statement calling on all state and local
governments to stop using cameras and the Internet to intrude on citizens
before privacy in America “is so diminished that it becomes nothing more than
a fond memory.”


Armey said he will ask the General Accounting Office to study the extent to
which the federal government is funding computerized facial-recognition
technologies of the type in operation in Colorado and in Tampa, FL and used at this year’s Super Bowl.


In Colorado, the Department of Motor Vehicles is moving ahead with a plan
approved by the Legislature to create a database containing computerized
three-dimensional facial maps of all those applying for driver’s licenses.
Used in conjunction with facial-recognition software, for example, the
Colorado database could allow the public movements of every citizen in the
state to be identified, tracked, recorded and stored, the ACLU said.


In his decidedly downbeat testimony in Washington today, Catlett said that
“each week brings another Love Canal of privacy to light.”


“Privacy will not survive without strong acts of will by democratic
government,” he said. “… it is up to you (Congress) to require all
organizations that handle information about people to treat it fairly. Unless
you do that, our society will not enjoy the benefits that our technology and
economy could deliver, and we will be robbed of something that is very
necessary to a dignified human existence: privacy.”


The complete text of his testimony is available here.


Meanwhile, opt-in e-mail marketing company NetCreations Inc. issued a
statement for the hearing, making a case for its form of privacy protection.


“It is our firm belief that opt-in does more than protect the rights of the
list members – it also makes the best business sense: opt-in lists reach a
more targeted audience more quickly and cost effectively.”


On Tuesday, the Privacy Leadership Initiative (PLI) said new research shows
that the American public sees a role for business and government in privacy
protection, “but consumers clearly view themselves as the first line of
defense in the escalating battle for control of their personal information.”


The study, conducted for PLI by Harris Interactive, was expanded from a beta
survey last December, and is intended to track changes and trends with regard
to consumer privacy experiences and expectations.


“People are telling government and industry that they want the most control
and responsibility for protecting their privacy, and that they are prepared
to exercise that responsibility when given the tools to do so,” said John
Kamp, acting executive director of the PLI.


The study found that consumers are increasingly paying attention to online
privacy statements (82 percent in April vs. 73 percent in December). Still, a
majority (59 percent) still feels that businesses do not do a good job of
informing consumers about what they do with their personal information. And
43 percent of online users feel businesses have no incentive to protect
consumer privacy.


“Privacy notices must be dramatically simplified — both online and off,”
Kamp said.


The PLI is a partnership of
CEOs from 15 major corporations and nine business associations, almost all
with a stake in online marketing, including DoubleClick and Harris
Interactive, as well as IBM, Intel, Proctor & Gamble and Dell Computer.

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