ISIL Freedom Network: United States > Magazines and Periodic Columns > Privacy and Security

Privacy villain of the week, 10/6/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"One of the most important components of any company's privacy policy is the promise not to willy-nilly turn over records to others, particularly government agencies which have near-unlimited power to track and trace citizens through their consumer behavior. That Wesley Clark traded on his government insider connections [for Acxiom] to do so is particularly villainous."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 6/7/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Newsweek has pointed out yet another egregious provision of the USA PATRIOT Act, one that both violates privacy and raises costs -- and does so inefficiently to boot. It comes into play whenever someone buys some real estate."

Privacy villain of the week, 9/26/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: AL, Country: United States

"That a state employee [of AL] can broadcast such activity live on television and face no consequences is emblematic of the double standard between the private and public sectors that permeates the debate on privacy."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 7/16/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"According to press reports, Ridge mimed driving a stake through CAPPS II when he made the announcement. But CAPPS II is one Privacy Villain that also should be beheaded, set ablaze and drowned in holy water. Just to make sure."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 9/22/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Did JetBlue just give away personal data on the five million customers who flew JetBlue from February 2000 to September 2002? Will the FTC take action against JetBlue for this violation of its own privacy policy? Or does the company get a free pass because the violation involved cooperation with another federal agency's Big Brother project?"

Privacy Villain of the Week, 3/26/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"There may be a place for similar programs in a free and private air travel and air security market. But TSA is determined that command-and-control supplant market processes. .... TSA hopes to get 5,000 volunteers for the pilot program. Don't do it. We don't need 5,000 unwitting privacy villains cultivating this process which deserves to die on the vine."

Privacy Hero of the Month, 6/1/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Air passengers can and should decide for themselves where along the continuum of security options -- from complete violation of one's history, body and mind by federal bureaucrats to simple metal detectors to armed pilots to armed passengers -- they're most comfortable traveling. .... This month's privacy heroes are doing what they can to preserve that choice."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 5/24/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Initiatives like the MATRIX program, which gather credit history, phone records and other consumer data, undermine consumer participation in the marketplace by providing a chilling effect when it comes to dealing with and entrusting sensitive data to businesses."

Privacy villain of the week, 11/14/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
City: Los Angeles, State: CA, Country: United States

"Another example of the dangers of large government databases on the citizenry comes to us this week from the city of Los Angeles. It seems that an officer was using the Department's surveillance databases, as well as some maintained at the state and federal level, to not only stalk a former paramour but also to gather dirt on celebrities to sell to supermarket tabloids."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 4/16/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"[C]onsumers don't really have much of a choice when it comes to turning over sensitive information to the IRS. .... The tax collectors throw around words like 'voluntary compliance,' but that just means you volunteer to risk imprisonment if you don't give them everything they want -- including your personal information."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 1/23/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"The folks at NASA have apparently been so successful in their quest to quash private-sector competition in space travel, that they feel free to use the tax dollars of those they've left planet-bound to sift through travel data and cook up hare-brained mind-reading schemes. And at least one airline gladly helped them do so."

Privacy villain of the week, 3/19/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"The FBI is claiming that the emerging technology of Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) is too dangerous for broad implementation. The feds' problem is, basically, that it is too inconvenient for them to snoop into."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 11/21/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"A U.S. Congressional Conference Committee, and now the House of Representatives, has passed an Intelligence Appropriations bill that gives the FBI the power to search through the consumer records of a wide variety of businesses without the benefit of a search warrant, as required by the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution's Bill of Rights."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 12/15/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: SC, Country: United States

"Seventeen high school students have launched a federal lawsuit against a number of persons and institutions in South Carolina. The legal ruckus arises from a fruitless, over-the-top police search of Stratford High School last month."

Privacy villain of the week, 12/8/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"The pushers of the so-called CAN-SPAM bill ... eager to make a show of standing up against junk mail, have written a prescription for less privacy online. And their plan will do little if anything to actually curb the tide of spam in the inboxes of Internet users."

Privacy Hero of the Month, 2/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: UT, Country: United States

"One state's database that isn't in the [MATRIX] system is Utah. That's because the state's new governor, Olene Walker, has halted the state's participation in the database after learning that former Gov. Mike Leavitt signed the state up for it on the sly ..."

Privacy villain of the week, 1/16/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Why should an agency that loses computers and files containing sensitive information, that hires people who fraudulently appropriate taxpayer identities, that keeps political enemies lists of persons and organizations, be given access to even more information? This is not to mention the agency's other insecure practices and unceasing quests for more personal information."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 5/14/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"A recent report on the traffic spycams installed throughout Washington, DC gives the lie to the oft-repeated claims that forced loss of privacy is balanced by greater security."

Privacy hero of the month, 12/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"With products like ZoneAlarm and other PC-security systems serving consumer needs, it would be wise for those calling for legislative remedies to online woes to take a step back and ask if there isn't another way. Laws come with unintended consequences, and rules intended to protect privacy can often compromise it."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 2/23/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"[I]t appears that the Justice Department is taking full advantage of the provisions of the HIPAA so-called 'privacy rules,' which, as detailed before in this space, opens virtually all medical records to virtually any government agency. This announcement by the federal government that it intends to pillage medical records risks being obscured by the divisive issue involved."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 1/30/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: FL, Country: United States

"Is giving the Nanny State the keys to our medicine cabinet really going to wipe out prescription drug abuse? Of course not. Bureaucrats and cops are no substitute for the support of family, faith and friends in fighting such problems. But that is of no consequence from Privacy Villains like Fasano who would sacrifice medical privacy to make points on the hot news stories of the day."

Privacy villain of the week: Government RFID pushers
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"RFID stands for radio-frequency identification, and many retailers and suppliers of consumer products would like to see the teeny tiny microchips-cum-radio-transponders replace the ubiquitous UPC bar code. The thing is, many in government seem to want this as well, which raises troubling questions." (9/5/03)

Privacy Villain of the Week, 3/5/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
City: Garden Grove, State: CA, Country: United States

"The California Fourth District Court of Appeals has upheld the legality of outrageous surveillance placed on customers of cybercafes in the city of Garden Grove. .... The law requires continuous video surveillance of customers, a uniformed security guard at every cybercafe in the city on weekends, as well as a 'daytime curfew' closing them to minors during school hours."

Privacy Hero of the Month, 11/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: OR, Country: United States

"Like the weather, people often complain about the growing state of state surveillance, but don't do anything about it. Christine Dahl of Portland, Oregon isn't one of those people. She's been fighting a speeding ticket issued her by an automatic photo radar system ..."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 9/13/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"For rushing ahead despite this and despite the pro-privacy rhetoric on the surface, biometric-pushing Congresscritters of both parties are the Privacy Villain of the Week."

Privacy villain of the week, 10/31/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"So, as state politicians whine about phantom lost revenue and continue to shovel pork into exploding budgets, they are attempting to set up and mandate an elaborate 'streamlined' system that would track consumer purchases across the country -- online and offline -- and enable the consumer's home state to automatically collect a tax at the time of sale."

Privacy villain of the week, 11/7/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Legislators and bureaucrats trampling consumer privacy in the quest for more money and power are certainly Privacy Villains. And so are those businesses who aren't being straight with consumers about their role in handing over sensitive information."

Privacy Hero and Villain of the Week, 3/1/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"For seeking to actively undermine doctor-patient privacy in violation of state law, the [FL] State Attorney's Office must be singled out as a Privacy Villain. AAPS' reasoned intervention in the case and explanation of its far-reaching consequences pegs them as Privacy Heroes."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 9/20/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"The Department of Transportation this week announced that airline privacy policies are essentially null and void. That stunning bit of information came when the DOT dismissed a compliant filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center ..."

Privacy Hero of the Month, 7/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"As government agencies around the country continuously display their thirst for more and more information on private citizens, it is refreshing to see one public official who is actually relinquishing sensitive personal data that he has gathered."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 9/29/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Consumers should be able to decide for themselves when they want counseling, and should not be subject to involuntary and invasive personal questioning from school officials and physicians. That is not 'New Freedom;' it is no freedom --- and it's Villainous."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 2/13/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: SC, Country: United States

"Is giving the Nanny State the keys to our medicine cabinet really going to wipe out prescription drug abuse? Of course not. Bureaucrats and cops cannot take the place of doctors, pastors, and family. But that is of no consequence for Privacy Villains ..."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 6/25/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Joining Delta, American and JetBlue in the lineup now are Continental, America West, and Frontier Airlines. Many passengers also had their data turned over by two major air-reservation companies, Galileo International and Apollo. TSA facilitated much of the data transfer to their contractors by making the requests."

Privacy hero of the month, 10/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Both SBC and Verizon are to be commended for their legal battle [against the RIAA] on behalf of consumer privacy. SBC's continued refusal to comply in light of the DC District Court ruling is particularly heroic. It will be even more so if SBC continues this stand no matter what happens in the California court case."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 2/6/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: NJ, Country: United States

"This is the kind of insanity that consumers can expect when decisions regarding their security are forfeited to government agencies rather than left in the realm of a market where the consumer's choice is sovereign. When the people doing the choosing don't have their own privacy on the line, villainous criminality is not a chief concern but merely another neglected pile of paperwork."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 8/6/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"The Federal Communications Commission announced this week that it has 'tentatively concluded' that broadband Internet access and all Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services fall under the ambit of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)."

Privacy Hero of the Month, 8/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"IT pioneer John Gilmore challenged the federal government in federal court -- and lost. But he has appealed, and gained more support than ever in his fight to roll back the federal government's apparently secret 'security directive"' to the airlines demanding that every passenger must show identification before boarding an airplane."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 4/23/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
State: CA, Country: United States

"When Google announced they were starting a free email service that included message-based advertising, the regulation advocates immediately came out in full force. But the attempt to outlaw 'Gmail' has a number of anti-privacy facets of its own."

Privacy hero of the week, 6/18/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"US District Court Judge Charles Breyer for Northern California ruled this week that the FBI and the Transportation Security Agency have been illegally stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests by travelers demanding details on the so-called 'no-fly' list which grounded them."

Privacy villain of the week, 10/17/03
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"As the Congress debates whether and how to incorporate prescription drug benefits into the Medicare leviathan, Sue Blevins ... has pointed out the chilling implications such a scheme could have for the privacy of American senior citizens. ... For rushing to hand out taxpayer-funded pharmaceuticals like Halloween candy ... the Medicare drug-pushers of all parties are this week's Privacy Villains."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 5/7/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Consumers should be free to choose whether they want their sensitive health records so easily accessible in these interconnected databases, and take this into account when deciding how to obtain health care. Policymakers in the Beltway who aggregate unto themselves these important consumer decisions are the Privacy Villains this week."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 7/23/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"Americans should not LOSE constitutional Protections and become subject to extra Constitutional foreign laws just because they purchase and use Internet connection services. For ignoring these pressing issues of great concern to American Internet users and working to push through this dangerous treaty, internationalist cheerleader Sen. Richard Lugar is the Privacy Villain this week."

Privacy villain of the week, 8/13/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"This gross disregard for individual consumer privacy preferences in favor of a bald bureaucratic power-grab makes Engleman Conners and her NTSB the Privacy Villain of the Week."

Privacy villain of the week, 8/20/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"TSA provides a one-size-fits-none illusion of security .... TSA has hired tens of thousands more people to root through luggage and wave wands at passengers than would have been the case in a free market where consumer preferences ultimately dictate such decisions."

Privacy Villain of the Week, 9/3/04
Source: NCCP
Author: James Plummer
Country: United States

"A document released last week reveals that it is impossible for businesses to challenge secret searches of customer records by federal agents -- because only government lawyers are allowed into the court that would hear appeals!"

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