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Volume 8.02 January 31, 2001
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Published by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, D.C.
http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_8.02.html
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Table of Contents
=======================================================================
[1] The Public Voice and the Digital Opportunity
[2] Groups Urge Court to Protect Free Speech in Copyright Case
[3] Federal Trade Commission Closes Investigation of DoubleClick
[4] EPIC Files Comments on Electronic Case Files
[5] Request Seeks Information on Use of Internet Filtering Data
[6] EPIC Bill-Track: New Bills in Congress
[7] EPIC Bookstore - P.E.A.C.E: A Novel
[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
=======================================================================
[1] The Public Voice and the Digital Opportunity
=======================================================================
When the leaders of the "G-8" countries gathered last summer in
Okinawa they sought to address one of the great challenges of the
Information Society -- how to ensure that the benefits of new
technology are widely shared around the world. They set out a
charter on the Global Information Society and said that:
The potential benefits of IT in spurring competition,
promoting enhanced productivity, and creating and sustaining
economic growth and jobs hold significant promise. Our task
is not only to stimulate and facilitate the transition to an
information society, but also to reap its full economic,
social and cultural benefits.
They also established a Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) to
solicit opinions from a wide range of organizations about what should
be done to address the challenge and opportunity.
Now a new project has been launched to promote public participation
in the DOT Force consultation. The Public Voice is urging Internet
users, particularly from Emerging Market Economies, to express their
views on what should be done to close the Digital Divide. We are
looking for ideas that are original, creative, captivating, and
energizing.
We want to hear from students, from educators, and from artists. We
are interested in the opinions of craftsmen and writers, workers and
poets. We want to hear from children and from parents. From
municipal leaders and from people who have never used a computer.
What would you say to the G-8 leaders about Digital Opportunities?
We will bring together your suggestions and present them to the DOT
Force. Please respond by February 15. And encourage others to
respond.
Submit Your Comments on Closing the Digital Divide:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/dotforce/comment.html
The Public Voice Dot Force Project:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/dotforce/
Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society:
http://www.g8kyushu-okinawa.go.jp/e/documents/it1.html
The DOT Force web site:
http://www.dotforce.org
=======================================================================
[2] Groups Urge Court to Protect Free Speech in Copyright Case
=======================================================================
EPIC joined the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups on
January 26 in a friend-of-the-court brief urging a federal appeals
court in New York to protect the balance between copyright law and the
First Amendment. The case, Universal Movie Studios, Inc. v. Corley,
pits the entertainment industry's attempts to control its digital
properties against free speech rights. At issue is the distribution
of software called DeCSS that allows users to bypass the security
system used to prevent copying of DVD movie disks. Last year, eight
Hollywood movie studios filed suit to prohibit the posting of the
software on Web sites or providing links to other Web sites that post
it.
The studios claimed that DeCSS violated a provision of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA), which prohibits manufacturing
or offering technology -- such as DeCSS -- that allows users to bypass
measures that protect access to copyrighted works (see EPIC Alert
5.10). The defendants argued that software like DeCSS should not be
made illegal because it allows DVDs to be used in a variety of ways,
some of which would traditionally be protected under the "fair use"
doctrine. As the ACLU/EPIC brief explains, the doctrine has
traditionally limited copyright liability by protecting the use of
copyrighted works in criticism, parody, comment, news reporting,
teaching and scholarship.
The lower court ruled in favor of the studios, effectively abolishing
"fair use" for technology like DeCSS. The court also imposed
liability under the new copyright law for merely providing links on a
Web site to another site containing DeCSS software. The ACLU/EPIC
brief argues that links are simply "digital footnotes." Since Web
publishers have no control over the content on linked sites or users'
decisions to follow links, imposing liability for links violates the
First Amendment.
In addition to the ACLU and EPIC, the amicus brief was endorsed by the
American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries,
Computer & Communications Industry Association, Music Library
Association and National Association of Independent Schools.
The amicus brief is available at:
http://epic.org/privacy/copyright/dmca_brief.pdf
EPIC's 1998 testimony on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is
available at:
http://epic.org/privacy/copyright/epic-wipo-testimony-698.html
=======================================================================
[3] Federal Trade Commission Closes Investigation of DoubleClick
=======================================================================
On January 22, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was
closing its investigation of DoubleClick, one of the Internet's
largest advertisers. In a letter to DoubleClick, the FTC concluded
that the company never actually used or disclosed personally
identifying information in violation of its privacy policy. The
letter also made note of DoubleClick's commitment to abide by
self-regulatory guidelines for online profiling. These guidelines
were developed by the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), a
consortium of online advertisers, and endorsed by the FTC in July 2000
(see EPIC Alert 7.15). The closing letter does not prohibit
DoubleClick from merging online and offline data at a later date.
The investigation began in February 2000 some weeks after DoubleClick
revealed that it planned to link personal data to detailed profiles it
had created on Internet users using tracking technologies such as
cookies and web bugs. Privacy advocates had anticipated this move
since November 1999 when DoubleClick acquired Abacus Direct, an
offline market research firm. Once it became clear that DoubleClick
intended to go forward with personal profiling, EPIC filed a formal
complaint with the FTC alleging that that this practice constituted an
unfair and deceptive business practice. In particular, the complaint
contended that the intention to merge these two databases violated
DoubleClick's previous assurances that information collected on
Internet users would remain anonymous. The New York and Michigan
State Attorneys General, as well as a number of private citizens, also
began legal proceedings against the company. In response, DoubleClick
announced in March 2000 that it would suspend its plan to merge the
databases pending the development of "government and industry privacy
standards."
The FTC letter did not address the allegations in the EPIC complaint
and presents the question of whether the FTC's current statutory
authority allows it to effectively pursue privacy complaints. EPIC
has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Commission
seeking all records pertaining to the DoubleClick investigation.
The text of the FTC's letter to DoubleClick is available at:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/closings/staff/doubleclick.pdf
The text of EPIC's complaint against DoubleClick is available at:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/internet/DCLK_complaint.pdf
Background information on the DoubleClick case is available at:
http://www.epic.org/doubletrouble/
=======================================================================
[4] EPIC Files Comments on Electronic Case Files
=======================================================================
In response to a Request for Comments distributed by the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, EPIC has submitted comments
on the privacy implications of providing electronic access to court
case files (see EPIC Alert 7.21). The federal courts have been
converting paper files into electronic files and accepting electronic
filings directly from litigants. These files sometimes contain
sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers,
medical information, family conflict information, and tax records.
EPIC's comments support broad public access to electronic case files
tempered with privacy safeguards. In the context of civil case files,
EPIC advised that public files be redacted for certain sensitive
personal information. Court officers and litigants in civil cases
would have access to the complete file. In the context of criminal
cases, the public would have access to the indictment and final
disposition of the court. However, pre-indictment information,
unexecuted warrants, and pre-sentence reports would be limited to
court officers and parties. In the context of bankruptcy files, EPIC
recommended a system where sensitive information would be segregated
and collected on separate forms protected from public access.
EPIC's comments are available online at:
http://www.epic.org/open_gov/ecfcomments.html
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' Request for Comment on
Privacy and Public Access to Electronic Case Files:
http://www.privacy.uscourts.gov/RFC.htm
=======================================================================
[5] Request Seeks Information on Use of Internet Filtering Data
=======================================================================
EPIC has filed a series of FOIA requests to obtain information from
the Department of Defense concerning the agency's purchase of
aggregate data on children's Internet browsing habits. As reported in
the Wall Street Journal on January 26, the Department of Defense is
paying $15,000 for data collected by Internet filtering company N2H2.
The N2H2 filtering software, called Bess, collects data from
children's Internet browsing behavior through the use of content
filters installed at public and private schools and colleges across
the country.
The recently passed Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) would
mandate that all schools and libraries receiving federal funding for
Internet access use similar Internet filters on school computers (see
EPIC Alert 7.22).
EPIC's FOIA request is available online at:
http://www.epic.org/open_gov/dodfoian2h2.html
The text of the Children's Internet Protection Act is available at:
http://www.ifea.net/cipa.html
=======================================================================
[6] EPIC Bill-Track: New Bills in Congress
=======================================================================
*House*
H.R.95 Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of 2001. To protect
individuals, families, and Internet service providers from unsolicited
and unwanted electronic mail. Sponsor: Rep Green, Gene (D-TX)
(introduced 1/3/2001). Latest Major Action: Referred to House
committees: House Energy and Commerce and House Judiciary.
H.R.232 Telemarketing Victims Protection Act. To amend the
Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act to authorize
the Federal Trade Commission to issue new rules regulating
telemarketing firms, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep King, Peter
T. (R-NY) (introduced 1/6/2001). Latest Major Action: Referred to
House committee : House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
H.R.237 Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act. To protect the
privacy of consumers who use the Internet. Sponsor: Rep Eshoo, Anna G.
(d-CA) (introduced 1/20/2001) Latest Major Action: 1/20/2001 Referred
to House committee: House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
*Senate*
S.30 A bill to strengthen control by consumers over the use and
disclosure of their personal financial and health information by
financial institutions, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Sarbanes,
Paul S. (D-MD) (introduced 1/22/2001) Latest Major Action: 1/22/2001
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.
EPIC Bill Track: Tracking Privacy, Speech, and Cyber-Liberties Bills
in the 107th Congress, is available at:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/bill_track.html
=======================================================================
[7] EPIC Bookstore - P.E.A.C.E: A Novel
=======================================================================
P.E.A.C.E.: A Novel by Guy Holmes
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=24075&cgi=search/
search&searchtype=isbn&searchfor=0684870797
P.E.A.C.E: A Novel by Guy Holmes presents a world in which anti-crime
video surveillance cameras are strategically placed on street corners,
airports, train stations, apartment and office complexes. The video
surveillance system is known as P.E.A.C.E. (Police Enforced Anti-Crime
Environment) and matches faces with a database of known criminals.
The book presents P.E.A.C.E. as a novel approach to crime fighting.
However, the system soon becomes more than a crime fighting aid, it
becomes a tool for oppressive surveillance and political control.
Fantasy? Not quite. At least 100,000 spectators arriving through the
gates at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to watch the 2001 Super Bowl
were subject to a similar surveillance system, according to the St.
Petersburg Times. What is presented as futuristic fiction by Guy
Holmes is now state-of-the-art for police. Super Bowl spectators had
their faces scanned and digitized and matched against a database of
criminals and terrorist suspects. Plans are afoot to use similar
systems for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
For other books recommended by EPIC, browse the EPIC Bookshelf at:
http://www.powells.com/features/epic/epic.html
================================
EPIC Publications:
"The Consumer Law Sourcebook 2000: Electronic Commerce and the Global
Economy," Sarah Andrews, editor (EPIC 2000). Price: $40.
http://www.epic.org/cls/
The Consumer Law Sourcebook provides a basic set of materials for
consumers, policy makers, practitioners and researchers who are
interested in the emerging field of electronic commerce. The focus is
on framework legislation that articulates basic rights for consumers
and the basic responsibilities for businesses in the online economy.
================================
"Privacy & Human Rights 2000: An International Survey of Privacy Laws
and Developments," David Banisar, author (EPIC 2000).
Price: $20. http://www.epic.org/phr/
This survey, by EPIC and Privacy International, reviews the state of
privacy in over fifty countries around the world. The survey examines
a wide range of privacy issues including, data protection, telephone
tapping, genetic databases, ID systems and freedom of information
laws.
================================
"The Privacy Law Sourcebook 2000: United States Law, International
Law, and Recent Developments," Marc Rotenberg, editor (EPIC 2000).
Price: $40. http://www.epic.org/pls/
The "Physicians Desk Reference of the privacy world." An invaluable
resource for students, attorneys, researchers and journalists who need
an up-to-date collection of U.S. and International privacy law, as
well as a comprehensive listing of privacy resources.
================================
"Cryptography and Liberty 2000: An International Survey of Encryption
Policy," Wayne Madsen and David Banisar, authors (EPIC 2000).
Price: $20. http://www.epic.org/crypto&/
EPIC's third survey of encryption policies around the world. The
results indicate that the efforts to reduce export controls on strong
encryption products have largely succeeded, although several
governments are gaining new powers to combat the perceived threats of
encryption to law enforcement.
================================
"Filters and Freedom: Free Speech Perspectives on Internet Content
Controls," David Sobel, editor (EPIC 1999). Price: $20.
http://www.epic.org/filters&freedom/
A collection of essays, studies, and critiques of Internet content
filtering. These papers are instrumental in explaining why filtering
threatens free expression.
================================
Additional titles on privacy, open government, free expression,
computer security, and crypto, as well as films and DVDs can be
ordered through the EPIC Bookstore: http://www.epic.org/bookstore/
=======================================================================
[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
=======================================================================
Register for CFP 2001!
CFP 2001: The Eleventh Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy.
March 6-9, 2001. Cambridge, MA. Registration and Program Information
available at: http://www.cfp2001.org/
---------
Are You Covered?: Navigating the New Federal Health Privacy
Regulations. Health Privacy Project. February 5, 2001. Washington, DC.
For more information: http://www.healthprivacy.org/
Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS '01). Internet
Society. February 7-9, 2001. San Diego, CA. For more information:
http://www.isoc.org/ndss01/
Nominations - February 16, 2001. MIT Sloan eBusiness Awards:
Recognizing Successful Innovation in eBusiness. For more information:
http://www.mitawards.org/
Privacy in the New Environments: What the Personal Information
Protection and Electronic Documents Act Means to Your Organization.
Riley Information Services. February 19, 2001. Ottawa, Canada. For
more information: http://www.rileyis.com/seminars/
The Second National HIPAA Summit: The Leading Forum on Healthcare
Privacy, Confidentiality, Data Security and HIPAA Compliance. March
1-2, 2001. Washington, DC. For more information:
http://www.hipaasummit.com/
CFP 2001: the Eleventh Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy.
March 6-9, 2001. Cambridge, MA. For more information:
http://www.cfp2001.org/
Consumer Assembly 2001: New Issues in a New Political and Economic
Era. Consumer Federation of America. March 8-9, 2001. Washington, DC.
For more information: http://www.consumerfed.org/events.html
EUROSEC 2001: Forum sur la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information. XP
Conseil. March 13-15, 2001. Paris, France. For more information:
http://www.xpconseil.com/eurosec2001/
Online, Offshore and Cross-Border: Regulating Global E-Commerce.
Washington College of Law, American University. March 30, 2001.
Washington, DC. For more information: http://www.wcl.american.edu
Call For Papers - March 31, 2001 (prizes available for graduate
student papers). The 29th Research Conference on Communication,
Information and Internet Policy. October 27-29, 2001. Alexandria, VA.
For more information: http://www.tprc.org
First International Conference on Human Aspects of the Information
Society. Information Management Research Institute, University of
Northumbria at Newcastle. April 9-11, 2001. Newcastle upon Tyne,
England. For more information: http://is.northumbria.ac.uk/imri
National Summit on Electronic Privacy. The National Institute for
Government Innovation. April 23-24, 2001. Washington, DC. For more
information: http://www.nigi.org/
The 26th Annual AAAS Colloquium on Science and Technology Policy.
American Association for the Advancement of Science. May 3-4, 2001.
Washington, DC. For more information:
http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/rd/colloqu.htm
The Internet Security Conference (TISC) 2001. Core Competence, Inc.
June 4-8, 2001. Los Angeles, CA. For more information:
http://www.tisc2001.com/
INET 2001: A Net Odyssey, Mobility and the Internet. The 11th Annual
Internet Society Conference. June 5-8, 2001. Stockholm, Sweden. For
more information: http://www.isoc.org/inet2001/
=======================================================================
Subscription Information
=======================================================================
The EPIC Alert is a free biweekly publication of the Electronic
Privacy Information Center. A Web-based form is available for
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To subscribe or unsubscribe using email, send email to
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Back issues are available at:
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=======================================================================
Privacy Policy
=======================================================================
The EPIC Alert mailing list is used only to mail the EPIC Alert and to
send notices about EPIC activities. We do not sell, rent or share our
mailing list. We also intend to challenge any subpoena or other legal
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In the event you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe your email address
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any other questions.
=======================================================================
About EPIC
=======================================================================
The Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest
research center in Washington, DC. It was established in 1994 to
focus public attention on emerging privacy issues such as the Clipper
Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, national ID cards, medical
record privacy, and the collection and sale of personal information.
EPIC publishes the EPIC Alert, pursues Freedom of Information Act
litigation, and conducts policy research. For more information,
e-mail info@epic.org, http://www.epic.org or write EPIC, 1718
Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009.
+1 202 483 1140 (tel), +1 202 483 1248 (fax).
If you'd like to support the work of the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, contributions are welcome and fully
tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to "EPIC" and sent to
1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009.
Or you can contribute online at
http://www.guidestar.org/aol/search/report/report.adp?ein=52-2225921
Your contributions will help support Freedom of Information Act and
First Amendment litigation, strong and effective advocacy for the
right of privacy and efforts to oppose government regulation of
encryption and expanding wiretapping powers.
Thank you for your support.
---------------------- END EPIC Alert 8.02 -----------------------
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