Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!gatech!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!abvax!iccgcc!herrickd From: herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: Information Control Message-ID: <4015.27f1f1c3@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> Date: 28 Mar 91 18:38:11 GMT References: <6750014@hp-vcd.HP.COM> Lines: 34 In article <6750014@hp-vcd.HP.COM>, johne@hp-vcd.HP.COM (John Eaton) writes: > <<<< > < Personally, I feel all the necessary tools are already available. You > < want to make a business transaction which involves divulging some > < information to another party. You don't want the information to > < propagate beyond this transaction. You have the party (by some sort > < of contract) agree not to propagate the information. Later, you find > < out they did propagate the information. You sue the pants off 'em. > < Daniel Guilderson > ---------- > Fine. Your assignment for this week is to pick any local government > agency that you wish to do business with and get them to agree not > to propagate your personal information. Let us know how it turns out. > But the law is already there with respect to government handling of information. And what it says is that they will use it to minimize your privacy. Social Security records are used to enforce the draft registration law. And the Internal Revenue Code is used to encourage parents to get Social Security Numbers for two year olds before they can make an informed decision to register or not to register. The most spectacular example of doublespeak is the Bank Privacy Act that declares that your bank will keep a record of all your checking account activity over some threshold amount in case some government representative wants to see it. Of course you said "local" and my examples are federal. Most of the government abuses at every level are mandated by law and fixing them requires changing that law. A useful and desirable objective, but it is possible to improve one's own situation by being circumspect faster than it is possible to change such laws. dan herrick herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com