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From: chymes@uri.csmil.umich.edu (Charles Hymes)
Subject: Telephone Caller ID's
Message-ID: <1991Mar29.154847.16915@engin.umich.edu>
Sender: news@engin.umich.edu (CAEN Netnews)
Organization: Cognitive Science Machine Intelligence Lab, University of Michigan
References: <13801@asylum.SF.CA.US>
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1991 15:48:47 GMT

The explosion of direct marketing technology has led to dramatic
increases in the ammount of junk mail in our mailboxes and sellers on
the telephone. Information on potential customers phone numbers and
addresses are a valuable comodity, which is bought,sold, and traded in
the direct marketing industry. Marketed and in hand with the caller ID service
are systems that allow the caller to cross reference the caller phone
number with name,address, income, and other personal data.

For privacy reasons I am against this caller ID service, but one
leagal/commercial point that is largely overlooked is that the phone
company is allowing your telephone to be used for someone elses
commercial purposes, without your consent or control. Given that this
information has commercial worth, I belive that one can argue that
phone company is depriving the caller of rightful income, and can be
sued for.

I wonder what it takes to declare personal information as "property" I
know celberaties can do so for thier voices and likenesses, but I
would like to be able to do so for my name, address, and personal
data, and say "This information is the (property,copyright etc) of
bla bla and may not be reproduced or recorded in any media for
commercial purposes without the express written consent of bla bla."

Charleed Wymerfan