From: "ama-gi ISPI" <offshore@email.msn.com> Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.26: Coalition Announces Intiative for Online Privacy Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 00:32:02 -0700 To: <Undisclosed.Recipients@majordomo.pobox.com> ISPI Clips 5.26: Coalition Announces Initiative for Online Privacy News & Info from the Institute for the Study of Privacy Issues (ISPI) Thursday October 8, 1998 ISPI4Privacy@ama-gi.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This From: The New York Times (Cybertimes), October 7, 1998 http://www.nytimes.com Coalition Announces Initiative for Online Privacy http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/cyber/articles/07privacy.html By JERI CLAUSING, jeri@nytimes.com ASHINGTON -- A coalition of major Internet companies on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping online advertising campaign to teach consumers and Web sites operators how to protect personal privacy on the Internet. The initiative, which is being launched with the equivalent of $4 million in Internet advertising banner commitments, was described as a huge grassroots consumer education program that is expected to reach 9 of every 10 Internet users. Called the Privacy Partnership [ http://www.truste.org/partners/ ], the campaign was started by TrustE [ http://www.truste.org/ ], an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to building trust in the Internet, and eight major Internet gateways, including America Online, Yahoo!, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, Microsoft, Netscape and Snap. A number of other companies have since joined, and any Web site operator can download a banner ad that has links to a privacy Web site. "The Internet is medium for communications and commerce, but users' anxiety and uncertainty about sharing personal information are preventing people from taking advantage of the Internet's full potential, " said Susan Scott, executive director of TrustE." The announcement comes at a time when companies are working to prove to federal lawmakers and regulators that they can establish an effective a voluntary framework to control the use of personal information collected online. Many of the companies involved in the new partnership are also members of the Online Privacy Alliance, which has drafted guidelines http://www.privacyalliance.org/ ] and an enforcement plan for companies to follow when collecting personal information from consumers on the Internet. The Clinton Administration, which has taken a hands-off approach to Internet regulation, supports self-regulation of privacy policies. But the Federal Trade Commission, which earlier this year released a survey of that painted a dismal picture of the state of privacy protections online, has recommended that Congress pass a bill to protect children from online marketers, and that protections be extended to all consumers if self-regulation has not made significant progress by January. On Tuesday, groups pushing for strong privacy laws released a study showing that nearly all industrialized countries have either adopted or are in the process of adopting comprehensive privacy laws. The report by the Global Internet Liberty Campaign, an international coalition of civil rights groups [ http://www.gilc.org/ ], found that countries are adopting these laws in many cases to address past governmental abuses, such as in former Eastern Bloc countries; to promote electronic commerce, or to ensure compatibility with international standards developed by the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "This report shows that there is substantial international support for privacy protection," said David Banisar, policy director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., and one of the authors of the report. His co-author, Simon Davies, director general of Privacy International, said, "The United States risks isolating itself from worldwide electronic commerce with its opposition to adequate and enforceable privacy rights." On Oct. 25, an European Union directive takes effect that is expected to toughen national laws of 15 European governments whose privacy standards are already more stringent than those of the United. The European laws require that corporations get people's permission before collecting demographic or marketing information about them. Without strong national standards in the United States, Banisar said many companies may find themselves unable to engage in electronic commerce in Europe. Clinton Administration officials, however, have for months been working with the European Union trying to convince European officials that the standards voluntarily being enacted by American companies are sufficient. And President Clinton's top Internet adviser, Ira C. Magaziner, insists current efforts by industry will be acceptable. "Things are moving along well now with self-regulation," Magaziner said Tuesday. "We still need to see fully implemented results, but I think those who advocate legislation assume that just as soon as you pass a law everything is fine. Laws still have to be implemented and enforced. And we question the effectiveness of enforcement of some of those laws. If self-regulation works as we are hoping and expect, it will still be the most effective way." The Privacy Partnership advertising blitz begins Oct. 12 and will run through Oct. 31. The campaign will use banner ads with links to a welcome message from the Privacy Partnership. That message has two links. One takes people to a TrustE site with information about how consumers can protect their privacy online. The other will allow Web site operators to join the Privacy Partnership by downloading the campaign's banner ads. It will also provide Web site operators with more information on privacy principles and tools to generate a privacy statement. "For trust to be engendered on the Internet, companies must clearly state what personal information they are collecting, how the information will be used, and the choices available to the individual regarding the collection, use and distribution of that information," Scott said. "If we can alleviate consumer anxiety about what happens to their data. Then everybody will do well." Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company --------------------------------NOTICE:------------------------------ ISPI Clips are news & opinion articles on privacy issues from all points of view; they are clipped from local, national and international newspapers, journals and magazines, etc. Inclusion as an ISPI Clip does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of the content or opinion by ISPI. 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