[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

2 stories of privacy (FTC and EU)



FTC PROPOSES NEW LEGISLATION TO PROTECT CONSUMER PRIVACY 

The Federal Trade Commission is proposing legislation that will require
department stores, automakers, car-rental firms, and other companies to
protect the financial privacy of consumers who do business with them.
Financial firms will have to create a privacy policy and clear state it to
consumers, and give consumers the right to forbid the sharing of their
personal financial information with unaffiliated third parties.
(Washington Post 24 Feb 2000)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a26996-2000feb24.htm

U.S. PRIVACY PROTECTIONS COULD EASE EUROPEAN CONCERNS

The move by the FTC to impose privacy protection rules on U.S. businesses
has been heralded as a breakthrough by U.S. and European negotiators who
have been seeking a way for U.S. firms to do business in Europe without
eroding Europeans' privacy rights. In the compromise, the FTC will
maintain a list of companies that agree to comply with at least one of
four ways of implementing privacy protections: 1) By subjecting themselves
to the data-protection authority in one of the 15 EU countries;  2) By
showing that they comply with similar U.S. privacy laws;  3) By signing up
with a self-regulatory organization such as BBBOnline, which is subject to
FTC oversight; or 4) By agreeing to refer privacy disputes to a European
regulatory panel. European officials say that resolving the disparities
between U.S. and European privacy protections will be key to the success
of e-commerce on the continent. (Wall Street Journal 24 Feb 2000)  
http://wsj.com/


==========================================================================
                             Paul Jones
   "We must protect our precious bodily fluids!" General Jack D Ripper
http://MetaLab.unc.edu/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As SunSITE.unc.edu
  pjones@MetaLab.unc.edu   voice: (919) 962-7600     fax: (919) 962-8071 
===========================================================================