FC: Sen. Shelby says firms misbehaving, FTC must investigate privacy

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[In this Washington Post article, we see some longtime politechnicals from 
EFF and Junkbusters criticizing the effort by firms to create a Customer 
Profile Exchange standard. I assume -- though it is just an assumption -- 
they would applaud Shelby's letter to the FTC below asking the agency to 
review the proposed standard. Now, the intentions of privacy advocates may 
be laudable (and I consider myself one as well) but I'm also a 
technologist. And putting often-clueless and frequently-unaccountable 
bureaucrats in the position of reviewing technical standards seems to me to 
be a first step on a very dangerous path. --Declan]

**********

The Washington Post article yesterday that drew Shelby's ire:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23676-2000Dec4.html

By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 5, 2000; Page E01

Several dozen e-commerce specialists are creating a system designed to 
vastly improve their ability to share names, identification numbers and a 
wealth of behavioral data about individual consumers, a prospect that 
raises new questions about the security and privacy of personal information.

[...]

**********

     December 5, 2000

     Mr. Robert Pitofsky, Chairman
     Federal Trade Commission
     600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
     Washington D.C. 20580

     Dear Chairman Pitofsky:

     I am writing to express my concerns regarding the consumer privacy
     implications related to the development of the Customer Profile
     Exchange standard.  The efforts to develop this new standard were
     brought to my attention by an article which ran in the Business
     Section of the  Washington Post on December 5, 2000.  I have attached
     a copy of this article for your review.

     It is my understanding from the article that the exchange standard
     was developed for the purpose of simplifying the process of storing
     and transferring information.  It would provide a uniform system
     through which businesses would gather and transmit individual consumer
     data including: addresses, taxpayer identification numbers, telephone
     numbers, e-mail addresses, income level, marital status, among other
     items.

     While this effort is intended to enhance commercial activity, I am
     troubled that insufficient attention has been given to the negative
     ramifications that the use of this exchange will have on the privacy
     of American consumers.  When this standard is put in practice, the
     personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans will be
     readily and widely available.  Therefore, in light of the significance
     of this new form of exchange, I respectfully request that the Federal
     Trade Commission review the development of this standard and closely
     consider its impact on the privacy of the American people prior to its
     being put in operation.

     Thank you for your time and consideration of my request.

                                                  Sincerely,
                                                  Richard C. Shelby






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