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[FYI] CNN: e-business and "none of your business"



http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/e.europe/stories/privacy/


E-business vs. 'none of your business'

The U.S. and E.U. have agreed on "safe harbor" 
privacy protection. But is it really safe?

By Andy Walton

(CNN.com, June 9, 2000) -- Should it be illegal 
to carry a pocket organizer across an international 
border, because it contains names and numbers of 
people who didn't give their permission? Or should 
companies and governments be allowed to collect 
all manner of information on people without their 
knowledge or consent, to be sold, swapped and 
used in any way whatsoever?

The debate over online privacy is prone to such 
extreme hypothetical visions. As computer networks make 
it easier to find, store, and process information, 
it is becoming harder for individuals to keep their 
data private. A push to bolster online privacy -- users' 
ability to control who has access to their personal 
information -- is growing.

"We certainly favor the growth of the Internet and 
electronic commerce and new technologies," says Marc 
Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. 
"But I think it's becoming increasingly clear that 
without some baseline privacy standards, the concerns 
the consumers have and the genuine problems that 
they're running into keeping track of how their 
personal information is being used will only increase."


...


"Unlike the United States, in Europe, each of the 
European countries has a very comprehensive set 
of protections for the privacy of its citizens," 
says Fordham University law professor Joel Reidenberg.
...


-- 
"This company has performed an illegal operation and will be shut  down. 
 If the problem persists, contact your vendor or appeal to  a higher
court."
	-- http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=00/06/07/2015223&cid=68