Date: Wed, 08 Mar 95 14:33:18 EST
Errors-To: Comp-privacy Error Handler <owner-comp-privacy@uwm.edu>
From: Computer Privacy Digest Moderator <comp-privacy@uwm.edu>
To: Comp-privacy@uwm.edu
Subject: Computer Privacy Digest V6#025
Computer Privacy Digest Wed, 08 Mar 95 Volume 6 : Issue: 025
Today's Topics: Moderator: Leonard P. Levine
Proving your Citizenship
Re: The IRS and INS
Consumer Protection Resource Kit Version 1
Re: Compuserve Sued for Delivering "Junk E-Mail"
SSN Question
Research on Caller ID Experience Wanted
Sprint Privacy Issue on 10 Cents-a-minute Calls
Info on CPD [unchanged since 12/29/94]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: dominic@enk.ks.se (Dominic-Luc Webb)
Date: 05 Mar 1995 08:00:41 +0800
Subject: Proving your Citizenship
Illegal Immigration Control Act of 1995 (HR 756). Introduced by
Hunter. Authorized Wiretaps for illegal immigration investigations,
false id. Requires issuence of "enhanced" Social Security cards to all
citizens and resident aliens by year 2000 that will include photo, SSN,
and are machine readable. Orders Attorney General to create databases
for verification. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
The problem here is the number of Americans, especially younger ones
who, like me had a terrible time trying to prove legitimate
citizenship, who must wait many years to get a job because of the
requirement to prove citizenship.
Is the same thing going to happen with this. There are a lot of
Americans who simply cannot prove citizenship.
------------------------------
From: wrf@ecse.rpi.edu (Wm. Randolph U Franklin)
Date: 06 Mar 1995 19:10:18 GMT
Subject: Re: The IRS and INS
Organization: ECSE Dept, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180 USA
1. Before leaving the country, aliens, at least, are supposed to get a
"sailing permit" from the IRS, showing that no taxes are owing. I
don't know to what extent this is actually enforced.
2. According the Practicing Law Institute(?) handbook on immigration,
if you are a student applying for a green card, the INS is interested
in whether you paid your taxes when a student. This is not mentioned
in the official info from the INS.
3. Concerning what info the INS has, someone reported (here?) that when
he arrived at Toronto airport from Europe and then drove to the US, at
the border they knew that he'd just arrived at Toronto.
4. At least for the Xray machines, I have good luck seeing the CRT's
reflection in the operator's eyeglasses. My vision isn't good enough
to read text that way, however.
5. I'd be surprised that the FOIA would get you their file on you since
I thought that it contains unsubstantiated rumors of criminality. Is
that FOIA'able?
--
Wm. Randolph Franklin, wrf@ecse.rpi.edu, (518) 276-6077; Fax: -6261
ECSE Dept., 6026 JEC, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst, Troy NY, 12180 USA
------------------------------
From: ggaldia@utdallas.edu (George)
Date: 06 Mar 1995 10:58:06 -0600
Subject: Consumer Protection Resource Kit Version 1
Organization: The University of Texas at Dallas
I created a Word 6 document called CPRKV1.DOC and an EXCEL 5.0
spreadsheet called CPRKV1.XLS that I hope will make it easier for
people to get their names removed from junk mailing lists, request and
correct credit files and medical records, get their statement of
earnings from the SSA, and persue complaints against merchants who rip
them off.
If you want, thanks to James Gardner, you can download the file from
FTP.RAHUL.NET in the sub dir PUB/JAG/PRIVACY.
If you find the file useful, please feel free to post it to other
sites. I am open to suggestions on how to improve it.
I don't have an ascii version yet, but hope to have on sometime before
the summer.
------------------------------
From: gmcgath@condes.MV.COM (Gary McGath)
Date: 07 Mar 1995 17:44:59 GMT
Subject: Re: Compuserve Sued for Delivering "Junk E-Mail"
Organization: Conceptual Design
rlk@max.tiac.net (Robert Krawitz) wrote: In this case, it appears
(judging from the outfit that posted the ad) that Compuserve itself
sent the ad, rather than merely carrying it. That's more like the
phone company interrupting a long distance call to advertise a new
service, perhaps. In this case, the service is using the
customer's funds to deliver unwanted advertising to the customer.
I used to subscribe to Compuserve; unless their operation has changed
severely, user operations are never interrupted to send E-mail to the
user. Your argument seems to say that a service provider doesn't have
the right to send E-mail to its users; I have to regard this as a
completely bizarre claim.
In the case of an automated mailing list, normally the subscriber
has to take an explicit action to be placed on the list. I should
think that that would constitute consent to receive any mailings
that were sent to the list.
But in any E-mail exchange, someone must initiate the transaction. Even
if you claim that it's only unsolicited E-mail that constitutes illegal
use of automatic dialing equipment (and I don't see what the issue of
solicitation has to do with that claim), anyone who sends out an
unsolicited message to a bunch of other people to try to get their
attention -- for example, to call their attention to a new governmental
outrage -- is violating the law, as you construe it. This would have a
horrible chilling effect on all electronic communication.
If people are denied the freedom to communicate with each other by
arbitrary, constantly changing interpretations of laws, then every
other freedom -- including programming freedom -- is endangered.
--
Gary McGath
gmcgath@condes.mv.com
PGP Fingerprint: 3E B3 62 C8 F8 9E E9 3A 67 E7 71 99 71 BD FA 29
------------------------------
From: gmcgath@condes.MV.COM (Gary McGath)
Date: 07 Mar 1995 17:48:51 GMT
Subject: SSN Question
Organization: Conceptual Design
Recently a magazine sent me a set of writer's guidelines, which
contained the following remarkable (to me, anyway) claim: "Please
understand that, by law, we can not send payment for an article until
we have your personal information including your social security
number."
Does anyone know if this is true? Is there actually a law prohibiting a
party to a contract from making due payment (or should I say: entitling
it to back out of its obligation) if the government fails to get its
tax information? This has to be a direct violation of the
Constitutional clause that forbids impairment of contractual
obligations; but I realize that the Constitution has long since ceased
to be any kind of barrier to the government.
--
Gary McGath
gmcgath@condes.mv.com
PGP Fingerprint: 3E B3 62 C8 F8 9E E9 3A 67 E7 71 99 71 BD FA 29
------------------------------
From: pbwhite@latrobe.edu.au (Peter B White)
Date: 08 Mar 1995 20:02:46 +1000
Subject: Research on Caller ID Experience Wanted
I am searching for pointers to any research studies which deal with
responses to the introduction of Caller ID. If you would like to
contact me directly, I would be pleased to post any bibliography which
might eventuate.
In addition I am looking for research which deals with the experiences
of telephone users after the introduction of Caller ID. If individuals
would like to contact me directly, I would be pleased to post any
bibliography which might eventuate.
Peter B. White, Director, Online Media Program, Department of Media
Studies, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
--
Peter B. White
Director,
La Trobe University Online Media Program,
Department of Media Studies,
La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria 3083,
Australia
email: pbwhite@latrobe.edu.au
phone: +61 3 479 2785 fax: +61 3 817 5875
------------------------------
From: hudspeth@jarhead (Todd Hudspeth)
Date: 08 Mar 95 08:49:56 CST
Subject: Sprint Privacy Issue on 10 Cents-a-minute Calls
I obtained this off of a Usenet list and thought it might
provide some insight to the new Sprint calling plan.
From petey.3.14159@akron-info.com ()
Subject: SPRINT 10 CENTS/MIN
Date: 06 Mar 95 17:15:03 -0400
I just signed up for Sprint's 10 cents a min. Here's the poop: They
want permission to record the whole signup converstaion (I said
no), They want permission to call the numbers on your bill to sell
them Sprint ( I said no). They want your SSN,DOB whether you own or
rent, have a checking acct, major credir card. The primetime rate
is 22 cents a min -- they don't tell that unless you ask of course.
It costs an extra 80 cents to make a credit card call. The card can
have your home phone on it or have a random acct no (I chose the
latter). The 100 free minutes? They calculate that at the 10 cent
rate and give you $5 credit on the first 2 bills. They will also
send you a $5 credit certificate to cover the cost of the
changeover fee from the Baby Bell. Is there an alternate carrier
that charges less than 10 cents a minute? Hey Murphy Brown says
it's cheaper than a postcard....
------------------------------
From: "Prof. L. P. Levine" <levine@blatz.cs.uwm.edu>
Date: 29 Dec 1994 10:50:22 -0600 (CST)
Subject: Info on CPD [unchanged since 12/29/94]
Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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---------------------------------+-----------------------------------------
Leonard P. Levine | Moderator of: Computer Privacy Digest
Professor of Computer Science | and comp.society.privacy
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Post: comp-privacy@uwm.edu
Box 784, Milwaukee WI 53201 | Information: comp-privacy-request@uwm.edu
| Gopher: gopher.cs.uwm.edu
levine@cs.uwm.edu | Mosaic: gopher://gopher.cs.uwm.edu
---------------------------------+-----------------------------------------
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End of Computer Privacy Digest V6 #025
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