Online Privacy...

...not just for kids anymore

[rcjordan]

webmasters, better dust off your privacy policies, the AG is coming U.S. Attorneys General Eye Privacy Suits [zdnet.com]

[Brett_Tabke]

Ours [webmasterworld.com] linked off the About screen [webmasterworld.com].

[rcjordan]

One of my sites trades in voluntarily submitted PII (personally identifiable information). It is redistributed to site sponsors, who then cull through the info and respond. Keeping the sponsors from abusing the info while staying ahead of privacy issues has taken alot of time --and I've received kudos for taking time to address this before it became a public hot-button. It's actually been good business for me to tighten/strengthen our pivacy policies.

Edited by: rcjordan

[Brett_Tabke]

How are you getting the info from the users? Surveys?

[rcjordan]

These are travel and relocation guide sites. Each and every page (there are thousands) links to a central "info request" page, which offers an selection of forms by broad topic. Each completed form is databased on the fly in a flatfile, but it is also dumped to a "bucket" file which is auto-mailed to subscribing sponsors every time it reaches X number of requests (X is currently 10 forms). This concatenation serves to (A)reduce the number of emails dispatched, (B)thwarts someone from setting up autoresponders, and (C)keeps them from being easily passed to a client's database.

These are very detailed travel profiles, but the relocation requests -since they involve selling real estate- are pure platinum. The volume is pretty substantial for our small slice of the world (Carolina coast) --currently averaging 100 forms per day total, about 8 percent relocation. The travel database currently holds about 15,000 requests so far this year, last year we ended up with 27,000. As you might imagine, I've had some direct marketers salivating to get at them, but I've declined.

[rcjordan]

Oh, the irony! I haven't checked, is DoubleClick running their banners? U.S. government admits Net privacy breach [slashdot.org] the same day as White House backs Web privacy project [news.cnet.com]

Edited by: rcjordan

[rcjordan]

IAB posts online privacy guidelines [iab.net]

[rcjordan]

BANKRUPTED E-TAILER TOYSMART.COM in liquidating its assets moved to sell off an extensive customer database -- a move that Monday raised red flags at the Federal Trade Commission because of privacy concerns. [infoworld.com]

[Brett_Tabke]

Notice the one against netscape this week? wow - mega ramification.

[rcjordan]

Disney steps in to contain the Toysmart damage...

Stop, Drop, and Roll [internetstockreport.com]

>Netscape
When AOL, MS, NS first make negative headlines I worry about media frenzy. The second or third story tends to sort things out and include a few reality checks.

[Brett_Tabke]

Here is the one on netscape [theregister.co.uk].

[oilman]

this [zdnet.com] is in a slightly different direction but it is very intersting indeed

[rcjordan]

where's that thread the Brits were posting about UK spying?

and the SEC will be crawling,too SEC Urges Eyes on the Net [pcworld.com]

[oldtimer]

Oilman's reference was very much what the UK government seems to want to do - at least Carnivore is a slight improvement on Omnivore but SEC is a whole different ball game. That is looking for public writing and scam artists. Apart from the fact that others who are not too careful with their content might get caught under the same heading, they could do a good job.

[rcjordan]

Websites Facing 'Privacy Storm' [wired.com]

The message: People are worried, politicians are aware of it, and laws are coming. So, be ready.

>at least Carnivore is a slight improvement on Omnivore
only if you are a plant

[oldtimer]

:)

[oilman]

>>only if you are a plant

ahh - that would be the life - fed and watered on a regular basis and occasionally turned towards the sun

[oldtimer]

..but sometimes drowned or neglected and left to die.

Aaaah

[rcjordan]

Government approves Net privacy plan [usatoday.com]

[Brett_Tabke]

(rant) Net privacy plan my ass. That has nothing to do with privacy and has everything to do with keeping the power house ad brokers out of congressional hearings and thwarting REAL privacy legislation. Do you know that this plan was mostly written by Double Click? I just hate it when business buys laws and regulations.(/rant)

[Billythekid]

AMEN!

[NFFC]

>BANKRUPTED E-TAILER TOYSMART.COM

Judge Blocks Toysmart's Plan To Sell Customer List [techweb.com]

"Promises were made when people gave you that information"