Date: Thu, 04 Jun 92 14:55:58 EST
Errors-To: Comp-privacy Error Handler <comp-privacy-request@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
From: Computer Privacy Digest Moderator <comp-privacy@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
To: Comp-privacy@PICA.ARMY.MIL
Subject: Computer Privacy Digest V1#042
Computer Privacy Digest Thu, 04 Jun 92 Volume 1 : Issue: 042
Today's Topics: Moderator: Dennis G. Rears
Re: SSN's and blood
Re: Privacy in video rental records?
Re: [J. Michael Blackford: Re: Privacy is a right]
e-mail privacy policy
The Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion on the
effect of technology on privacy. The digest is moderated and
gatewayed into the USENET newsgroup comp.society.privacy
(Moderated). Submissions should be sent to
comp-privacy@pica.army.mil and administrative requests to
comp-privacy-request@pica.army.mil.
Back issues are available via anonymous ftp on ftp.pica.army.mil
[129.139.160.200].
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Forrette <stevef@wrq.com>
Subject: Re: SSN's and blood
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1992 03:04:06 GMT
In article <comp-privacy1.32.6@pica.army.mil> johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) writes:
>>The local red cross wanted my ssn when I gave blood. They got really
>>ugly when I refused.
>
>The people at the Red Cross can be remakably dense, particularly
>considering that all their blood comes from unpaid volunteers. I donate both
>here in Boston and at my beach house near Philadelphia. Both wanted my SSN.
In California, there is a statewide database of people who should be
excluded from donating blood for any reason. It is of course useful these
days for donors with AIDS, but the database predates the AIDS epidemic. If
you donate blood and for whatever reason they determine that there is some
(permanent) reason that you should not be able to donate, they put your
SSN on the list. No reason is kept in the database - only the original
bloodbank knows why. All bloodbanks check new donors against the list. It
would seem that with all the problems (many of them deadly) that having "bad"
blood in the blood supply can cause, that there is a compelling public
interest in maintaining such a database.
Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com
------------------------------
From: Steve Forrette <stevef@wrq.com>
Subject: Re: Privacy in video rental records?
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1992 03:16:21 GMT
In article <comp-privacy1.32.7@pica.army.mil> bc335@cleveland.freenet.edu (Michael H. Riddle, Esq.) writes:
>
>In a previous posting, NEELY_MP@darwin.ntu.edu.au (Mark P. Neely,
>Northern Territory University)) writes:
>
>> State Attorney John Tanner (Volusia Co, FL) has subpoenaed the rental
>>records of two video shopkeepers to identify the individuals who rented
>>one of four named explicit films.
>>
>> TITLE 18 UNITED STATES CODE
>> CHAPTER 121. STORED WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND
>> TRANSACTIONAL RECORDS ACCESS
>>
>> s 2710. Wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records
BTW, I believe this law was passed in response to the Judge Bork nomination to
the Supreme Court. Some reporter trying to dig up some dirt purchased a
complete list of all the movies that Judge Bork had rented, and published
parts of it in the paper. They were apparently looking for some titles that
people would find offensive.
Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com
------------------------------
From: Steve Forrette <stevef@wrq.com>
Subject: Re: [J. Michael Blackford: Re: Privacy is a right]
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1992 03:53:32 GMT
In article <comp-privacy1.34.1@pica.army.mil> abc@brl.mil (Brinton Cooper) writes:
>
>> Interesting ... and the bartender only has the right to know if the
>> customer is over a certain age ... but, he usually gets to find out
>> the date the customer was born. This is a simple example of a plethora
>> of instances wherein our "right to privacy" in infringed upon by a
>> requirement for too much information. Why not issue color-coded
>> driver's licenses? One color for minors, another for adults?
>
>In fact, the State of Maryland does just that. I don't think it's
>color, but when my son was at the borderline age (circa 21), it was
>whether your picture was full-face or profile. Come to think of it,
>background color may have been different, too. Can another Marylander
>verify?
The State of Washington does this. An angled profile shot (45 degrees or so)
if you're under 21, and straight on if you're 21 or over.
This reminds me of the signs many places that sell alcohol display: "If you're
under 25, you must show ID" If you're asked for ID, is it a valid response
just to inform them that you're over 25, and thus don't have to show any
according to the sign? :-)
Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com
------------------------------
From: "Allan H. Levy" <a-levy@uiuc.edu>
Subject: e-mail privacy policy
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1992 15:16:04 GMT
Recently, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign promulgated an
interim e-mail advisory, which sets forth policies whereby e-mail may be
inspected by others than the sender or recipient. I reproduce the policy in its
entirety for the information and comments of others interested in this important subject.
******
Electronic Mail Advisory
Over the past year, the campus administration has received a
number of inquiries about access to files maintained on
electronic media. Essentially, the questions focused on the
privacy of such communications and the conditions under which
someone may look at another person's files. We asked the
Advisory Committee on Networking and Computing to study this
issue and to develop a policy statement that would guide
campus actions. The attached statement is the result of the
Committee's efforts. We are issuing the statement as an
interim policy in order to allow faculty, staff, and students
to "live" with the statement for a few months before it is
made final. We would be pleased to receive comments on the
interim policy statement.
INTERIM E-MAIL ADVISORY
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign participates
in a range of computing networks and many members of the
community also regularly use computers in their work.
Statements in public files in this medium are protected by
the same laws and policies, and are subject to the same
limitations, as communications in other media. The same holds
true for electronic personal files and communications.
However, users should exercise caution when committing
confidential information to electronic media, because the
confidentiality of such material cannot be guaranteed. For
example, routine maintenance or system administration of a
computer may result in the contents of files and
communications being seen.
Also, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act,
electronic files are treated in the same way as paper files.
The documents in the files of employees of the State of
Illinois are considered to be public documents, and may be
subject to inspection through FOIA. In such cases, the campus
Freedom of Information Officer must inspect files to
determine which portions may be exempt from disclosure.
Network and system administrators are expected to treat the
contents of electronic files as private and confidential. Any
inspection of electronic files, and any action based upon
such inspection, will be governed by all applicable U. S. and
Illinois laws and by University policies.
A network or system administrator who is unsure about how to
deal with questions about the content of computer files or
access to such files should contact George F. Badger,
Associate Vice Chancellor for Computing and Communications,
at 333-4103 (e-mail: g-badger@uiuc.edu).
04/27/92
------------------------------
End of Computer Privacy Digest V1 #042
******************************