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Hollings Introduces Privacy Bill
Dynedain writes "Senator Disney (aka Hollings) is apparently trying to get on techies' good side. ZDnet is reporting he is proposing a bill for 'net privacy' requiring opt-in agreements when companies want to sell 'sensitive' information (medical history, sexual preference, etc.) and opt-out agreements when selling non-sensitive (buying habits). US Chamber of Commerce is opposing this." Another article on Newsbytes notes that there are likely to be several privacy bills floating around, offering different levels of actual protection.
Now /. has another guy to have a love/hate relationship with.
Anyways, he's not trying very hard. All information that could be shared should be opt-out. Sharing very private information, like medical histories, is already well protected, and people's tendency to not notice opt-out options for buying habits and such will do nothing to stem the flow of spam and junk mail. Oh well.
The idea that the opt-in is for 'sensitive' information and opt-out for 'non-sensitive' information should apeal to most people.
The problem lies in what is 'sensitive' information and 'non-sensitive' information.
It can vary wildly based on context and how the data is processed (the old, unique Id is the only directly identifing feature but link it to too many data references and you have the complete individual).
If you think about it, the proposal can never be policed.
ERR 411[Max number of witty sigs reached]
Is the /. crowd in favor of privacy legislation or do we take a Libertarian viewpoint on this as well and call privacy legistlation an affront to free speech?
Viddy well my droogs, you don't want to be hypocritical here.
Privacy bills like this will have a huge impact on the consumer's protection, but also have a huge cost to growing internet companies.
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Replace the Privacy with Piracy, and you get the former CPDBODJTO (you know what I mean). Hey, at least a lot of his sound bites are already written.
When this bill actually comes out, we'll have to make sure there are NO RIDERS on it. This would be a perfect opportunity to do so, since this proposed legislation has a chance to pass.
Karma? Karma? I don't need no stinkin' karma.
Listen, if Hollings is sponsering this bill because he wants to "make-up" with the tech-community, then the worst thing the tech-community can do is continue to boycott him.
Make the message clear, that the community will support good bill but go ape-shit crazy on bad ones. If he gets a bad reaction still, he's just going to write off the tech community as a special interest group that he has no chance of winning over. In that case, he'll say screw you to all of us and just go on taking blood money from disney.
Don't make it personal, it's simply politics. We just have to play the game.
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and opt-out agreements when selling non-sensitive (buying habits
Since when are buying habits not sensitive? What if you're buying cream at the pharmacy for your genital warts? What if you're buying a particular product for your spouse, or for a friend? What if you're ordering porno over the net? (They don't ship it in brown paper covers to your house because nobody cares whether anyone else sees it or not) What if you're buying a drug for a medical condition that you'd rather nobody knew about? Sure, Mr. Jones, we don't have access to your medical records, but we see you've been buying AZT, and various magazines and books written by people infected with HIV as support tools. Hmmm.....
Sexual preference, medical history, and lots of other things are tied to what you buy. I don't see how they can say that buying habits aren't sensitive.
-- Truth goes out the door when rumor comes innuendo. -- Groucho Marx
Sensitive private characteristics:
Sexual Preference: Heterosexual
Medical History: Pretty healthy, alcoholism runs in family.
Crinimal record: One speeding ticket, not much else.
Yeah, those are pretty private
Non-sensitive private information: /., weightlifting websites, finance, and geeky websites. straight pr0n.
Buying habits: Alcohol, Straight Pr0n, exercise stuff & vitamins, no medicine
Web browsing habits:
Whoa. My non-sensitive information is extremely suggestive of my sensitive information, wouldn't you think? What gives? Is it more complicated to make all privacy information opt-in? It seems like it would be less complicated to the irony nazi.
Bringing irony to the Slash-masses
This got me thinking that when you go into a store, in the very least, employees and gauge the demographics they are catering to, and adjust the way the store operates accordingly.
You have to admit, much of the information they want when you buy (where ya from, how old are you) is 'casually' available in physical stores. Online retailers have no such luxery of asking their sales force (cause there is none) who's buying, so I really dont think it's asking to much for the companies to want the provision of that kind of information to be standard procedure when buying online.
The physical retailers can provide this information based on sales data, the retailers physical location, and by virtue of the sales force being physically located where the buyer is. Virtual retailers arn't asking for anything new, other than potentially the granularity (IE, you live in this zipcode instead of you shop in this zipcode.)
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) said it continues to support industry self-regulation on privacy.
I support segreating 'opt-in', 'opt-out' not by what information is collected, but by what you are allowed to do with that information. 'opt-out' collection should allow retailers to do internal aggregated sales analytics, while you MUST provide 'opt-in' collection when you wish to use that information to proactively contact the customer.
"Old man yells at systemd"
--Dave Rickey
It all comes down to whom do you trust with your private information, and what information you yourself deem to be private.
Individuals are going to have to decide this for themselves. Trusting the government or advertising drones or Microsoft to keep your information private implies rather a lot of trust. Have you met these people? Told them about that time in 4th grade where you experimented with the chronic? Who knows stuff like that? Your closest companions at best.
Privacy must be individually taken, kept and defended. It's not a gift to be handed down from on high. Each person must learn to defend their privacy on their own, and determine just what they consider private.
Hate spam? Find a way to fight it, and keep your e-mail to yourself (or at worst, make up a free one). Don't believe the registration cards. Use a fake name on your phone number, or keep it unlisted. Give no one your SSN unless they can provide proof of needing it. Make sure you know what constitutes real proof. Never say hello twice when answering your phone. Turn off cookies. Set up trusted host lists.
It's hard, yes. Joe Public won't know how to do it. OTOH, Joe Public may not care, or may not spend 10 hours a day cruising the net, or may never buy anything from anyone online.
Know the risks, take pains to minimize them, and stay vigilant. It's the only real way to keep your privacy.
Do not touch -Willie
I agree with the spirit of Hollings' proposed bill (and it pains me to say that). However, my "ideal" online privacy law would be:
1. Companies are forbidden to share/sell/reveal, intentionally or not, any information that a consumer gives to the company or authorizes the company to obtain unless expressly authorized by the consumer. So, anything that you give the company can not be shared with anyone else unless you give them permission to do so.
2. Companies are forbidden to share/sell/reveal, intentionally or not, any information created through consumers' transactions with the company that can be associated with a partifular consumer unless expressly authorized by the consumer. In other words, Company X can tell a marketing company that Y consumers purchased Product Z. They can NOT say that Consumer A purchased Product Z unless Consumer A authorizes it. If the company creates the data, they can use it, but can only associate the data with particular consumers with permission.
3. Any permission given for a company to use your data must be an informed decision. The company must provide to the consumer who they will share the data with (specific comapnies), what data will be shared, what the receiving company will do with the data, and what the company will get for sharing the data. This information must be provided to the consumer before she agrees to give permission, not something that can get received "on request" later after agreeing.
4. Companies that violate these three premises will be fined by the government and there will be a procedure set in place for consumers to collect damages.
Hopefully, this would prevent companies from playing fast and loose with your information and force them to make sure that their systems are secure (note the "intentionally or not" would cause the company to violate this "law" if some third party, such as a cracker, gets the data).
Self-regulation doesn't work. There will always be someone who will violate the "regulations" that the industry comes up with. The only solution is a legislative solution.
I don't see how the "selling" of medical information is legal at all. I worked for a company who made software for the health care industry, and there's some serious laws regarding protection of medical information. Both parties sending and receiving any information must have written signed guarentees that the information will be kept private. This act is the Health Care Protection and Acountability Act (HIPAA).
A simple opt-in (ala Yahoo! i'm asuming here) wouldn't abide by the laws set forth in HIPAA.
I'm surprised Hollins even brings medical information to the Internet. Most medical facilities I worked with had stricit protocols or strict seperation regarding sensitive data and the Internet. If any information was sent at all, it was either via FAX, hardcopy, or on a secure connection (via CarbonCopy, or similar program).
The only people who need my medical information are my health care providers.
How is this a good bill? On the plus side, yeah, we have to give someone permisssion to sell our "critical" data. But who's to say that won't be buried in an EULA?
And as Yahoo! has recently proved, automatically opting people in to recieve spam (since that's what the 2nd part of this legislations basically proposes, after all... they sell your info, you get spam) and making them opt-out leads to people getting bent out of shape. Why should companies get the right to ASSUME that I want to recieve spam from whoever they feel like hawking my info to?
A privacy law with teeth would have opt-ins across the board, and a clause saying that each opt-in must be clearly labelled as such, with no "bundling" of opt-ins implicit in any other action.
AHHHHHHH! I'm burning with goodness again!
- Reakk, Sluggy Freelance
The incredible state of almost is where this comes from. I suppose some compromise will have to happen, but in an ideal world, to me, things would opt-in, and any change would be required to be very explicit and specific. That is, if one opts into Company A for XYZ, even Company A can't bug one about JKL as that was not opted into.
I'm not entirely sure I want law for privacy, as omissions in it might be seen as an invitation to do questionable things. But then having no law seems to be doing the same.
Perhaps a law of reciprocity? If someone want information about me, first they must supply me with the equivalent about them. For any limit they want on what I do with that, I get to put a limit on what they do with my information - and it need not be the same limit (since I'm not doing what they are, most likely). Dream world? Yep, alas.
I don't subscribe to RMS's GNUtopian vision.
It doesn't really matter if I need to opt-in. The day after the Bill is signed into Law, Lawyers will add the following line to the click-through licenses on their spyware products. "I here by grant full access to all personal data...."
How do you define internal? Are subsiduaries internal? Are alliances internal? If company A sends a consultant team to company B for 1 year, are they internal employees? If I sign a nondiscosure agreement that makes me a temporary employee, am I internal? What's internal and what's external is extremely vague in the corporate world.
I run a website that uses slashchode. Now, this asks for certain bits of information. I don't have any intention of doing anything with this information and I'm not any sort of commercial entity. Am I to be held to the same standards about opt-in and opt-out agreements?
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This is a very simple debate if you look at the type of data being collected. A vocal majority of web users know that a good deal of information about them is tracked every time they go to a website or their favorite porn site. Most are content with allowing this information to be tracked as well as long as it is under the premise of being anonymous. When a site tries to tie in personal information, that is where the line needs to be drawn and opt-in needs to be specifically required (without questionable tactics such as pre-checking boxes allowing the user to be mailed by 3rd-parties).
People are willing to give up a lot of information about themselves when you promise that the data will be anonymous or in aggregate format, and for the most part, companies have no problem with this. The ire of the masses is resounding when companies don't use this information in the manner intended or attempt to use it to create marketing profiles per user. I don't mind buying things, but I also do not want "HOT!!! DEALS!" crammed in my inbox and down my throat.
So to Senator Hollings, I ask that instead of laying more restrictions on companies that will either get blown off or result in a plethora of legalese every time you sign up for a mailing list, he should focus more on making sure that his proposal is simple and understandable by both parties (COPA is a good example of how ALL personal data should be handled).
Hammer of Truth
Never confuse volume with power.
ZDnet is reporting he is proposing a bill for 'net privacy' requiring opt-in agreements when companies want to sell 'sensitive' information (medical history, sexual preference, etc.) and opt-out agreements when selling non-sensitive (buying habits
An interesting observation I just made:
When the data belongs to the consumer, Hollings (D-Disney) wants the data to be copyable. He'd be committing political suicide to not ask for at least some restrictions, so he introduces bills like this. As for the 'non-sensitive' opt-out data, I don't consider opt-out to be a restriction at all. I'll still get the spam, and (especially seeing how email spammers work) it's not exactly easy to trust anybody to honor opt-out requests.
BUT...when the data belongs to a corporation, he doesn't want it to be copyable at all. Witness the DMCA and the SSSCA/CBDTPA.
Now. Try and tell me he isn't biased against consumers and towards corporations.
I pledge allegiance to the flag...
of the Corporate States of America...
why do we need laws to tell us what information is too sensitive and what isn't?
you know what? if you get asked about your religion and it offends you... DON"T ANSWER.
if you know of a site that tracks you and you don't want them to sell that information... DON'T SHOP THERE.
and you know what? maybe, just maybe, the free market will regulate itself when people stop shopping at intrusive vendors.
this is _not_ government's job. this bill will not stop spam. most legit companies already have well defined privacy policies on their websites so you know what you're getting yourself into.
all in all, this bill accomplishes actively nothing, and yes it is nothing more than a front to appease opponents of his other bills...
Will he just attach his stupid new copyright bill to this privacy bill in the dead of night?
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
Well said. When the bill does surface into the light of day, let's bear something in mind. If Hollings is proposing a bill that guarantees Federally protected privacy (ahem) for your information, might the corollary be that it becomes an offence to provide dis-information, even when there's no fraudulent intent, just caution?
Before you scoff and dismiss this, consider his track record, and apply the appropriate spin. How about "Promoting a culture of mutual trust in a value add win-win proposition for both peon^H^H^^H consumers and master^H^H^H^H^H^ business." And remember, you heard it here first.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
NO government intervention can be just as bad as TOO MUCH government intervention.
Also, don't forget that in the 1960's and 1970's the government's funding of NASA and the Internet served to spur growth in technology faster than if it would have been left solely to the free market...
A man who wants nothing is invincible
I don't see any similarity here. The media industry wants to control information even after they have sold it, whereas as a consumer I don't even want to give out this information in the first place.
Besides, I see a distinct qualitative difference between salable works of art/literature/content, and personal, non-artistic demographic data. Now if I created a piece of art based on my personal demographic data, and sold it, and then wanted to control how people used it, I would probably be in the same position as the media industry.
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?