Court Gives Dutch ISP Victory Over Hotmail, Free ISPs

Dutch ISP XS4ALL
Internet B.V.
scored a major legal victory for consumer privacy after
an Amsterdam court upheld its right to publicize the privacy policies of Hotmail and several free Dutch ISPs.

The court also allowed the counterclaim of XS4ALL, finding that ISP Wanadooshould immediately discontinue
advertising their guarantee that customers’ details are not used by third
parties, as Wanadoo is unable to support that claim.

In the ad campaign, XS4ALL posters publicized the not-so-private terms of
use for several free Dutch ISPs and Hotmail, the Microsoft-operated free
Web-mail service. Each of the free services state that they may sell
customer information to third parties.

XS4ALL was sued by two free Dutch ISPs, Wanadoo and NokNok, as a result of its “Everything has
it’s Price” poster campaign.

Sjoera Nas, XS4ALL spokesperson, said Internet privacy in the Netherlands
is now taken very seriously as a result of their ad campaign and the
controversial lawsuits.

“The judge’s verdict implies that Internet users should be informed clearly
and precisely what the service provider intends to do with their data
before signing up,” Nas said.” Hiding this information, or vaguely
describing it, is clearly condemned in the legal decision.”

In response to Dutch Internet privacy concerns, XS4ALL has partnered with
Zero-Knowledge Systems to offer
its customers total Internet privacy.

XS4ALL has opted to become one of 140 partners in the Freedom Network, a
globally distributed network of servers hosted by ISPs and independent
server operators in partnership with Zero-Knowledge.

Jordan Socran, Zero-Knowledge director of Internet partnerships, said that
free services often come with a hefty price tag for online privacy.

“XS4ALL is proving to consumers that even free Internet service has a
cost–often, the wholesale invasion of your privacy,” Socran said. “This
case sets an important precedent and shows that despite posting
terms-of-service and privacy policies, many ISPs do not want their
customers to know their personal data is being collected and sold.”

Founded in 1993, XS4ALL is the third-largest paid ISP in the Netherlands.
Well-known for their advocacy of privacy rights on the Internet, XS4ALL won
a landmark legal decision against the state in 1998 concerning a request to
wiretap an Internet user.

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