Copyright © 1999

Porsche Club of America The Inside Line November, 1999 Barbara Collozzo-Noonan BCN914@PorscheNet.com

This is my last regular column as a member of the Board of Directors. I'm using it to do a public service announcement on the subject of privacy. When I wrote about telemarketing invading our privacy it elicited much response. This is a larger issue with more serious consequences.
 
There's an old saying that Knowledge is Power. There's a new spin-off to that saying that goes "Information is Valuable". Personal information about you is being gathered and traded on the Internet. Do you know that info is being gathered about you as you surf the web? Clickstreaming is an invisible tracking practice that records where you go and how long you visit each site so that a profile of you can be compiled and sold to anyone interested enough to pay for it. Who do you think benefits from this? The Direct Marketing Association would like you to believe that you do. They would like us to believe that the better they know us the better they can serve us by targeting us with only advertising that is of interest to us. There is a fundamental flaw with this logic. It is the assumption that we need or want them to target us for advertising at all. Of course their premise is self-serving. How could we ever survive if we were left to find the products and services we want or need given the proliferation and accessibility of information in the world today? (My sarcasm runneth over, sorry about that.)
 
Imagine a world without junk mail, junk e-mail, or telemarketing calls. If you are a true visionary you'll stay with me here as I envision a world without commercials on television or radio, no ugly billboards or ads in magazines. Have I gone too far? If I have it is only as a reaction to the opposite extremes that are being perpetrated on us as we live day to day. We accept much of it because we are used to it and it's only mildly annoying, though it does waste our time. I'm warning about what's going on now because it's getting very personal and it is being perpetrated secretly on us without our consent. Web-savvy surfers know what "cookies" are and how they're used to gather and record info about us as we move from website to site. Casual surfers might not realize that personal info is being compiled about you and depending on whose website you're visiting you might not have any control over what is done with that info.
 
If you've ever registered on a website to make a purchase or get software free or even just to read a webpage, you may have seen a message that says the web server wants to place a "cookie" on your hard drive. Even if you've never seen a message you could have quite a cookie collection on your hard drive. A cookie is a digital ID tag that the web server uses to recognize you every time you visit the site. You can configure your web browser to block cookies or warn when they are being placed. Check under Options or Preferences. You can delete cookie files that have been placed on your hard drive. Look for the Cookies folder in the Windows folder. The catch is without them you won't be able to do business with certain sites. Another internal identifier to look for is built into the Intel Pentium III chip inside your PC. This feature was supposed to be turned off on machines sold for private use but Zero Knowledge Systems of Canada claims to have found a way to turn it back on remotely. To be sure, check Intel's website for the latest on how to handle this issue on your PC.
 
The issue of privacy is big one for me. The implications are getting bigger everyday as Internet technology advances. The result will be a data collection network of previously unimaginable reach, as telephones, (cable) television, cars and appliances-not just personal computers-are connected to the global digital network. And the rapidly developing fields of data-mining and profiling software will enable corporations to search through this ocean of data to identify patterns of buying and behavior. Profiling could be used to determine not just who gets which marketing pitch, but who gets or is excluded from opportunities like jobs, housing and education.* (From a NY Times article entitled Online Industry Seizes the Initiative on Privacy)
 
Based on a survey of privacy practices of commercial websites, the FTC reported to Congress in June 1998 that the industry had "fallen short of what is needed to protect consumers." Specifically what was discovered was that 92.8% of the sites sampled collected some personal data but only 9.5% of those sites addressed the four touchstones of "fair information practices": Notice of data collection, Choice to opt-out, Access to their own info, and Security of the data. Congress was poised to enact sweeping Internet privacy legislation. In response, the Online Privacy Alliance (OPA) was formed to address the issue of privacy on the internet, hoping to avoid regulation and a trade war with Europe. Founding members include AOL, IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and the Direct Marketing Assoc. The new industry principles limit the availability of certain types of personal information. The industry will allow consumers access to their own non-public information and to opt-out of distribution to the general public. The industry has agreed to annual compliance reviews, the results of which will be made public. But there are no laws or regulations and no criminal punishments attached.
 
Tim Berners-Lee, the British physicist who created the basic software for the Web said it best: "On privacy, I don't think that self regulation is enough. In America, I believe that the lack of regulation means that the corporate marketers have too much power." As Director of the World Wide Web Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he is working on privacy enhancing software.
 
At the heart of the controversy are the computerized databases known as "look-up services" or "individual reference services" that disseminate personal identifiable information. Their recently adopted principals prohibit distribution to the general public Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, and dates of birth. Also information from marketing transactions cannot be disclosed.
 
Finally the three largest credit bureaus allow you to request your personal information not be shared with or used for promotional purposes. Visit their websites to learn their individual requirements or call the toll free numbers below.
Equifax, Inc. 1-800-556-4711
Experian  1-800-353-0809
Trans Union Corp.  1-800-680-7293
 
For more info on the subject start with: FTC.gov/privacy/protect.htm or Newsweek.com: Science &Tech: Knowing You All Too Well