Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!hybrid!scifi!bywater!uunet!world!bzs From: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: What is private information? Message-ID: Date: 12 Jan 91 15:33:50 GMT References: <1990Dec25.062336.16836@looking.on.ca> <6750001@hp-vcd.HP.COM> <3566@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu> <5775@rsiatl.Dixie.Com> Sender: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) Organization: The World Lines: 23 In-Reply-To: jgd@Dixie.Com's message of 11 Jan 91 22:17:53 GMT It seems to me that the best way to curtail the abuses described would be a good liability suit. Corporations hear that, and if they don't hear that, then their insurance companies hear it and they'll see it in their rates. One would, of course, have to produce some real harm, and perhaps even change what is perceived as harm by the courts, but that's the challenge of frontiers. The advantage to this approach is that it doesn't question the RIGHT to own or publish data, it punishes its abuse and defines what is considered harm and potentially litigious. I know that most places I've worked various court decisions were always affecting company's behavior (memos etc go out.) For example, some decision regarding what you can say about an ex-employee certainly changed things at large companies (managers are now generally told by corporate counsel that it's much safer to be silent than to ever say anything negative about an ex-employee.) -- -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die | {xylogics,uunet}!world!bzs | bzs@world.std.com Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: 617-739-0202 | Login: 617-739-WRLD