PRIVACY

"The right to be left alone - the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by a free people."

- Justice Louis Brandeis, Olmstead v. U.S. (1928).

| Hot | General Info | Privacy Topics |

• Supreme Court Strikes Down Georgia Drug Testing Law. For the first time the Supreme Court has ruled that a state drug testing program is unconstitutional. The Court said in an 8-1 ruling that Georgia's requirement that candidates for public office submit to urine tests "diminished personal privacy for a symbol's sake."

• SSA Pulls Online Database. The Social Security Administration has pulled its controversial database of online benefit records. Records were accessable using only a minimum amount of information. See the EPIC SSA and Privacy Page.

• IRS Employees Caught Snooping. The IRS has investigated over 4,500 cases of employees "browsing" taxpayer files in the last four years. The House and the Senate have approved a bill criminalizing browsing. See the EPIC IRS Privacy Page

• Groups Urges IETF to Fix Cookies. A coalition of consumer, education and privacy organizations has sent a letter to the Internet Engineering Task Force in support of a proposal to fix the HTTP protocol that allows websites to track your online activities. Learn more about cookies at the EPIC Privacy Archive.

• Telephone Privacy. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has filed comments with the Federal Communication Commission on Customer Proprietary Network Information. The NTIA urges the FCC to establish strong privacy safeguards for CPNI.

• UCC. Proposed changes to the Uniform Commercial Code could have a significant impact on consumer privacy. CPT UCC Article 2B Page

• Greenspan on Privacy. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has delivered a major speech discussing privacy and electronic payment systems, noting the need for policies that "avoid the risk of a gradual, long-term erosion of privacy." Also, check out an earlier speech by Greenspan on the important role of cash transactions for consumers.

• FTC Privacy Activities. The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will conduct a "computer database study" to examine personal information held by private companies used to locate individuals. See the EPIC FTC Page for more information.

• C|Net Series on "Privacy in the Digital Age". Includes Real Audio interviews of David Sobel and Phil Zimmermann.

• Practical Privacy Tools. Information on how to get PGP and other encryption programs, anonymous remailers and other privacy enhancing technologies.

• EPIC's Online Guide to Privacy Resources..

• Comprehensive overview of state privacy laws (from the Privacy Journal).

• Air Travel Privacy. Materials on passenger profiling and other related proposals being proposed by the White House.

• Cable TV Records. Text of the Cable TV Privacy Act of 1984.

• Caller ID. Includes FCC rules, court cases and international materials.

• Childrens' Privacy. Bills introduced in the House and the Senate last session to restrict collection of personal information about children for marketing purposes.

• Conferences. List of upcoming conferences on privacy.

• Cookies. What *are* those nasty little things, and who's been putting them on your hard drive? Check our cookies page for a list of good resources.

• Copyright and Privacy.NII Copyright Protection Act raises privacy issues. Comments of the Digital Futures Coalition and the Consumer Project on Technology.

• Counter-terrorism. Congressional proposals to increase wiretapping, revise government guidelines on investigating domestic political groups and obtain easier access to credit reports and transactional information.

• Credit Reports. Text of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, FCRA facts from the Federal Trade Commission and information on contacting the credit bureaus. The FTC has released a proposed Notice of Rights and Duties under the Fair Credit Reporting Act has also been released.

• Cryptography Policy . Information on the Clipper Chip, Key Escrow and other pending issues related to cryptography policy.

• Direct Marketing and Junk Mail. Information on Avrahami case and other attempts to protect personal information and stem the flow of junk mail.

• Driving Records. Drivers Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

• Electronic Mail. "Electronic Interaction in the Workplace: Monitoring, Retrieving and Storing Employee Communications in the Internet Age," a comprehensive analysis (from the *employer* perspective) by Mark S. Dichter and Michael S. Burkhardt (October 1996). For a different perspective, see the Ontario Privacy Principles for E-mail.

• International Privacy. Information on international privacy laws and standards, including the recently enacted EU Data Protection Directive and proposals for Canada and the US. Also see the Privacy International Home Page

• Internet Privacy. EPIC Report 94-1 Privacy Guidelines for the National Information Infrastructure. CNN report "Experts debate Internet privacy". EPIC FTC Privacy page on the activities of the Federal Trade Commission on investigating online privacy.

• Medical Records. Information on current problems and pending legislation.

• National ID Cards. Pending proposals in Congress, reports, and international updates.

• New Technologies. "Big Brother Goes High Tech" by Dave Banisar. A summary of new surveillance technologies. Information on EPIC and Privacy International's annual conference on Advanced Surveillance Technologies.

• Online Databases. What Big Brother holds on you. Information on IRS employee browsing, the SSA PEBES controversy, Filegate and FBI Databases.

• Personal and Consumer Information. How personal information about you is stored, transferred and used.

• Public Opinion. What the American public thinks about privacy.

• School Records. Paper on Privacy of Education Records and text of the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act. Washington Post article on controversial Virginia proposal to create extensive database of student records.

• Social Security Numbers. Information on how to protect your SSN, the text of the 1974 Privacy Act and various court cases on disclosure.

• Video Surveillance. Extensive page from Privacy International on Closed Circuit TV and video surveillance.

• Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance. Updates on the digital telephony law, statistics, and other material on electronic surveillance.

• Workplace Privacy. Report by former chair of US Privacy Protection Study Commission finds US standards inadequate, recommends legislation.