The following document is from the PRIVACY Forum Archive at Vortex Technology, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A. For direct web access to the PRIVACY Forum and PRIVACY Forum Radio, including detailed information, archives, keyword searching, and related facilities, please visit the PRIVACY Forum via the web URL: http://www.vortex.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIVACY Forum Digest Friday, 17 July 1992 Volume 01 : Issue 08 Moderated by Lauren Weinstein (lauren@cv.vortex.com) Vortex Technology, Topanga, CA, U.S.A. ===== PRIVACY FORUM ===== The PRIVACY Forum digest is supported in part by the ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy. CONTENTS Rental applications and privacy (Willis H. Ware) Topic Suggestion: Personal Experiences (Moderator--Lauren Weinstein) *** Please include a RELEVANT "Subject:" line on all submissions! *** *** Submissions without them may be ignored! *** ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PRIVACY Forum is a moderated digest for the discussion and analysis of issues relating to the general topic of privacy (both personal and collective) in the "information age" of the 1990's and beyond. The moderator will choose submissions for inclusion based on their relevance and content. Submissions will not be routinely acknowledged. ALL submissions should be addressed to "privacy@cv.vortex.com" and must have RELEVANT "Subject:" lines. Submissions without appropriate and relevant "Subject:" lines may be ignored. Subscriptions are by an automatic "listserv" system; for subscription information, please send a message consisting of the word "help" (quotes not included) in the BODY of a message to: "privacy-request@cv.vortex.com". Mailing list problems should be reported to "list-maint@cv.vortex.com". All submissions included in this digest represent the views of the individual authors and all submissions will be considered to be distributable without limitations. The PRIVACY Forum archive, including all issues of the digest and all related materials, is available via anonymous FTP from site "cv.vortex.com", in the "/privacy" directory. Use the FTP login "ftp" or "anonymous", and enter your e-mail address as the password. The typical "README" and "INDEX" files are available to guide you through the files available for FTP access. PRIVACY Forum materials may also be obtained automatically via e-mail through the listserv system. Please follow the instructions above for getting the listserv "help" information, which now includes details regarding the "index" and "get" listserv commands, which are used to access the PRIVACY Forum archive. For information regarding the availability of this digest via FAX, please send an inquiry to privacy-fax@cv.vortex.com, call (310) 455-9300, or FAX to (310) 455-2364. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 01, ISSUE 08 Quote for the day: "When the plumber Zabladowski has installed the last sink, I want him disintegrated. I want you to disintegrate him slowly. I want him to suffer. Atom by atom. At dawn!" -- Dr. Terwilliker "The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T." (1953) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Jul 92 17:00:28 PDT From: "Willis H. Ware" Subject: Rental applications and privacy RE: susie@cv.vortex.com (Susie Hirsch) and the problem with rental applications. I'm afraid that she psyched it out right: hope for the best and trust that you won't be victimized. Actually this is one example of what I referred to 10-15 years ago as "data puddles" -- small collections of personal and possibly sensitive information -- that would get created and lie around as a byproduct of being in some line of business. My example at the time was the databases accumulated in the checkout stands of supermarkets or small grocery outlets. Another example was bankcard drafts, especially before California outlawed the collection of driver license numbers by the merchant who usually also added the fone number as well. There is no law, only the implied behavior of business ethics, that will provide protection to Ms. Hirsch. The big problem with data puddles which are rapidly becoming major lakes if not inland seas, is that people handling such information are not trained in or accustomed to protecting sensitive material. They are apt to be careless, but then so are banks which have been known to throw away unwanted copies of sensitive paper in the dumpster in the alley. Neither is there any legal protection for it; hence, any enforcement official can come along and subpoena it or even acquire it surreptitiously. PIs and attorneys likewise have easy pickings. The social problem of protecting people against consequences of mis- handling all such data collections has stymied me for years, especially in a reactive democratic society and government. An attractive possibility would be to bring privacy infractions in under tort law but then one has to show, and perhaps prove, harm or damages. All one can do, at the moment, is accept such things as a risk of living on this planet and try to minimize the amount of information that gets revealed. The present situation is worrisome enough, but try applying for a home loan. Most places want, in addition to all else, complete copies of last two years' Federal and State tax returns complete with all enclosures. There are known instances of there being a secondary market in "used and filled-out 1040 forms". Willis Ware ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Jul 92 23:01 PDT From: lauren@cv.vortex.com (Moderator--Lauren Weinstein) Subject: Topic Suggestion: Personal Experiences Greetings. One manner in which I hope this digest will be of value is to help relate the more "theoretical" and "academic" aspects of privacy to the sorts of events that actually occur in people's lives. To this end, I invite those of you who feel comfortable doing so to relate any experiences which you have undergone that relate to the overall topic area of privacy. Perhaps you've had problems with inaccurate information in a database, been the victim of credit fraud, or otherwise lived through events the telling of which might be illuminating to the readership. Of particular interest is what steps you took to deal with the situation, or how you believe your experiences relate to overall privacy topics. Remember, it's the aspects of privacy in our technological age affecting *you*, and of interest to *you*, that are an extremely important part of the PRIVACY Forum. --Lauren-- ------------------------------ End of PRIVACY Forum Digest 01.08 ************************