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Minnesota Bill Would Prevent Disclosure of Web Habits
jweb writes: "The Minneapolis Star Tribune is running an article about a bill in the Minnesota legislature that would make it illegal for an ISP to disclose personal information about websites that its customers visit. According to the article, this bill has passed both houses of the legislature, with one key difference: the House version requires customers to 'opt-out' of this information-sharing, but the Senate version would be 'opt-in', requiring the customer to specifically state that they would like their personal information made available. Not suprisingly, AOL and Yahoo are lobbying against it."
They're tracking you, they can track you. Use peer to peer anonymizer tools like peekabooty.
I've said it before, and I'll said it agai:
WE NEED TO USE ENCRYPTION MORE.
there.
We all talk about using encryption, but how many of our emails are actually encrypted. We need to start encrypting regular email. Now, if you encrypt email.. it looks suspicious. Now, when you browse anonymously, it looks suspicious.
Soon privacy will be suspicious.
Don't believe me? Watch.
If you dont defend it the fourth amendment will be a forgotten and irrelevant.
You've just made your own counterargument.
Information wants to be free. Computers are devices that are designed to replicate and transmit information. Once a copy of the information exists, it can be replicated indefinitely and passed on from person to person.
As a practical matter, there's no such thing as "letting a little bit of information out". It's like being a little bit pregnant.
You can give information to groups you trust not to abuse it, but as soon as you make a mistake, you're fscked.
I choose to give some personal information to Slashdot to set up an account because I trust them to keep it reasonably secure, and to inform me when they're 0wned :)
Likewise, I choose to deny - to the extent that I'm capable - giving information to Doubleclick, Microsoft Passport, and basically anything else with a TrustE seal on it, because the only thing I trust such groups to do with that information is sell it to anyone who wants it.
This is actually a "GOOD THING" (tm), I'm rather impressed someone in local Government understands that people are moving parts of their lives online. There needs to be some basic protection from companies to mine this data.
Just think of some of the areas, support groups for rape, drug use, violence, addictions, cancer, etc... Discussion groups, political, sex, food, hobbies, art, cars, investing, etc..
These laws act like a catalyst. If we make opt-in mandatory, we can push other areas to require opt-in methods. Opt-out is a scam that big companies like AOL and Yahoo love. It takes a couple weeks for your Opt-out to register, while your data is already sold.
Its bad enough, you can pull most of a persons life from DMV and Credit reports, do we need a persons intimate personal life also?
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Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well. - Samuel Butler (1835 - 1902)
I live in Minnesota, and the difference between the House and the Senate on this one is not surprising. The House is Republican controlled, and the Senate is controlled by the Democrats. What gets passed on the floor of the House and on the floor of the Senate means nothing, all of that is just posturing for campaigning. The Republicans don't want to seem anti-business or pro big-government. What really counts is the conference committees that are happening right now. It is there where the bills' differences are ironed out to be passed on to the Governor for his body slam, er signature.
I shouldn't say the full sessions are worthless. Basically, if something isn't in the House or Senate of a bill, it's not going to appear in conference committee. Usually though, the two sides, behind close doors, make decisions that are much more moderate than their respective party caucuses would like to think. In this case, I would think the opt-in strategy will win. It will be interesting to see though, and I'm glad I live in Minnesota on this one, because I know my Governor is going to sign this one!
My Karma was at 49, then they switched to words. All that work for nothing!
The government can require them to keep track of the information as part of an investigation. But they need a warrant, court order or subpoena to ask for it. (Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 USC 2701 et seq.)
The big problem is that the ECPA specifically allows electronic communications services to give this information to non-government entities without the subscriber's permission. Eliminating that provision on the federal level (making it illegal to give out that information absent either the subscriber's permission or a subpoena/court order) would be easily done and give a heck of a lot more privacy to users.
picture this...
... oh, you want (with emphasis) deep data retreval? ... (eyes spin and green dollar signs come up) Yes we can go back that far. (cha-ching sound)
... You too, thanks. (hangs up phone, turns to hand a slip of paper to someone off camera, revealing a cleric's collar) Sister Doris, would you issue a check to these folks from the Church's "alternate evangelism" fund please, and what is the next ISP in the yellow pages?
(location is an ISP call center, a phone rings)
ISP phone droid #729: (picks up phone) Hello, this is $ISP, how may we make your ride on the information super highway smoother?
caller: I'd like to purchase a list of your users that visit sights like mine for marketing purposes.
phone droid: let me transfer you to marketing.
(cut to plush office, with a sleazball in a suit... plaque on wall reads "salesman of the year 1999")
marketing guy: Why yes Mr. Smith, we can do that. Simply provide us a list of domain names, and we can start send you a list of all $ISP customers that visited that site in the past month
(cut to small office, large crucifix hanging on wall behind man on phone)
man: Yes, that's the end of my list of domains. Uh-huh... yeah... ok I'll be looking forward to it in my inbox, and the check is on it's way.
(cut to another view of the same man in the same office, latter that week, working at a computer, removes floppy from diskette drive and turns to hand it to a woman at a smaller desk in the corner)
man: Sister Martha, would you cross reference this list of email addresses against the church's roster, anyone that appears on both lists, please send them a tithe reminder, jot a note suggesting they meet with me after services on the back. Give the ones that don't match to brother Bruce as potential new members of the One True Way World Church, for his email campaign to save the lost souls.
(fade to black, ominous music playing.)
Think it won't happen?
Think that's air you're breathing?