Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!news From: news@accuvax.nwu.edu (USENET News System) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Speech on Telephone Privacy Message-ID: <1911@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 6 Dec 89 07:43:01 GMT Reply-To: rsiatl!jgd (John G. De Armond) Organization: Radiation Systems, Inc. (a thinktank, motorcycle, car and gun Lines: 88 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 558, message 2 of 4 In article <1806@accuvax.nwu.edu> john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) writes: >X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 551, message 9 of 11 >Mr. Rotenberg's basic premise involves the comment that just because >we can do it doesn't mean we should do it. Also, he assumes that there >is some inherent, cast-in-stone right to privacy concerning the use of >the telephone. >I'd like to turn it around. Just because in years past we have *not* >had the technology to reveal callers' phone numbers does not mean that >failing to do so is the natural order of things. I'm sure that if >Caller-ID had been an inherent feature of automatic switching systems >from the beginning, this would be a non-issue. The word "Luddite" >comes to mind: A person who automatically resists change, particularly >technological. Well, Luddite may come to your mind but personal privacy rights come to mine. I am incensed that my personal privacy rights have been eroded both by government and by greedy private companies. I'll give you an example. Have you ever pulled a credit report on yourself? If you are at all affluent and/or have had many credit transactions, the personal information the credit databanks maintain on you is a disturbingly accurate reflection of your personal lifestyle. That is disturbing enough but what is worse is that almost anybody that wants access to it can have it. The law says that the credit bureaus must keep a record of who accesses your credit data and must provide it to you on request. In my record, there are literally dozens of inquiries from companies I've never heard of nor done business with. I'm sure that some of these companies were prowling for likely candidates to send free credit card applications to. Others were most likely building profiles for people to inflict telemarketers onto. I terribly resent either use. Still another, much more insidious use is by the IRS. They collect data on lifestyle from this and other databanks, such as mailing lists so that they can impute an income from lifestyle in the event they think you pay too few taxes. I am personally very vunerable to this type attack. By virtue of skillful trading, purchasing and craftsmanship, I live an apparent lifestyle several multiples of my actual income. And yet the IRS could use this very personal information to screw me if they so chose. What I buy, where I go and who I call are strictly MY PERSONAL BUSINESS and no one elses. Particularly those slimebags who are most likely to use such a service - the telemarketers and the government. More than adequate means already exist to trap prank and obscene calls. The only motive that can be assigned to wanting to personally know the ID of a prankster likely looks somewhat like vigilanteism. I'll give you another example of EXISTING caller ID, or as traditionally known, ANI. I've posted before about the sleeze phone company I wrote switch software for. They had feature group D lines which provided among other things, ANI. ANI was needed for billing but they went further. They collected calling statistics by caller and built and sold mailing list names. While it may be legal, it sure is not right. Dammit, my phone exists for MY and my family's convenience and use. No stranger has any more right to invade my privacy electronically than they do barging through my front door. Not answering the phone is NOT an answer. Aside from being driven from a service I pay for, tragedy can happen by ignoring emergency calls. I found out the hard way when I was a teenager. I got to spend the night in jail on a bum bust because my parents were not answering the phone that night. That we later had that cop's ass handed to us on a silver platter was no consolation for having to spend a hellish night in a city jail. I insist, no, I demand that a ring on the phone is either someone I want to talk to or is an emergency. All caller ID will do is allow slime to discover my phone number more readily. Hmm, instead of getting mad, perhaps I should take advantage of the entraprenural opportunity. Hey guys, how do you think a commercial automatic redialing service would fly. You know, you dial an access number to get a dial tone and your call is routed out over the service's line. You think that this service coupled with an iron-clad contract to never collect or release calling information would fly? I do. John De Armond, WD4OQC | The Fano Factor - Radiation Systems, Inc. Atlanta, GA | Where Theory meets Reality. emory!rsiatl!jgd **I am the NRA** |