Tech Daily Dose

Watchdogs Weigh In On DC Mayor's Surveillance Plan

The American Civil Liberties Union, the Constitution Project and Electronic Privacy Information Center sent a letter Friday to members of the D.C. City Council calling on them to reject Mayor Adrian Fenty's request for more than $900,000 for the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency to centralize monitoring of more than 5,000 cameras installed in public schools, public housing, and residential neighborhoods.

The cameras are currently operated under the auspices of several different city agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, which has implemented policies governing use and protecting individual privacy that have been heralded by law enforcement officials, public security experts, and privacy advocates as among the nation's best. The policies, developed through hearings in 2002 and 2006, have not been adopted by HSEMA.

Even if the Council determines that some new network would be appropriate, it is important to assess carefully which cameras and how many of them should be part of such a network," the letter said. "Before any funds are appropriated, HSEMA should develop, with public input, a robust privacy policy to govern operation of such a network." The group said it is critical that the city "preserve the important privacy and civil liberties safeguards currently in place."

(Photo Credit: SocTech via Flickr)

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ACLU Slams FBI's Data-Gathering Practices

A former FBI agent Michael German, who now works for the American Civil Liberties Union, slammed the intelligence agency on Wednesday for ignoring laws and internal guidelines pertaining to the use of national security letters -- administrative subpoenas that allow agents to grab phone, computer and bank records in suspected terrorism cases without warrants.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the Justice Department will soon release an audit from 2006 that highlights some problems, many of which predate reforms. He also pledged "continued vigilance in this area." Read CongressDaily's coverage here.

"When it comes to NSLs, there are laws and there are internal guidelines – the FBI ignored both,” said ACLU National Security Policy Counsel Michael German. New guidelines have been introduced, but an IG report from last year "makes clear that internal guidelines are meaningless to the FBI."

Instituting judicial oversight would guarantee that someone would be looking over the shoulder of agents using a tool as invasive as an NSL, German said. Lawmakers also have the power to narrow the scope of the statute and they should use it – especially when the data collected is being stored and not destroyed, he said.

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AOL, HP & Intuit Honored For Privacy Protections

America Online, Hewlett-Packard and Intuit have been named the most trusted companies for privacy of 2007, according to Internet privacy group TRUSTe and the Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank.

The winners were announced at the Congressional Internet Caucus annual summit. The award is designed to celebrate the companies who take active measures to protect and inform their consumers and to encourage a safer online ecosystem, TRUSTe said.

Firms were judged by rigorous criteria, which included the clarity and readability of privacy statements and notice, account information access and the ability to make changes, cookie practices, in-network and out-of-network data sharing practices, choice, regulation, infrastructure and customer service, among others. Read more here.

"HP realizes the importance of privacy and trust not only to our customers but also to the success of our business," HP Chief Privacy Officer Scott Taylor said in a press release. "It comes down to respecting individuals and their right to privacy, and that's why we hold ourselves accountable to a higher standard."

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ACLU Campaign Pairs Pizza & Privacy

The American Civil Liberties Union has launched a clever campaign to draw attention to government and private sector data-collection activities that they believe could institute a 24-hour surveillance society.

A new animated video on the group's Web site warns that ordering pizza could be hazardous to your health -- and privacy. In the skit, a man orders a pie on the phone and Pizza Palace instantly knows everything about him -- from his work and home addresses and phone numbers to his travel habits, magazine subscriptions and blood pressure.

The ACLU claims that intelligence initiatives like the now-defunct MATRIX (the Multistate Anti-TeRrorism Information eXchange) and the FBI's Carnivore are destroying citizens' privacy. "They want to track your purchases, your medical records, and even your relationships," the ACLU argues. Makes you wonder how much your Domino's delivery guy really knows -- other than the fact that you like extra cheese and black olives.

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O'Connor Kelly Adjusts To GE, Gets Fridge Discount

When Nuala O’Connor Kelly joined General Electric as the conglomerate's privacy chief in October 2005, she knew there might be some perks. One of them, she told an American Bar Association conference on Friday, is getting a good deal on refrigerators -- and presumably other appliances manufactured by the multinational.

Her role, which she said is considerably less stressful than her previous post as the first Homeland Security Department chief privacy officer, has come with a steep learning curve. "We have so many divisions, I'm still trying to figure out what all of them do," O'Connor Kelly joked.

GE, which owns NBC (as well as businesses that manufacture electrical and lighting equipment, medical devices, aircraft jet engines and plastics), has "one of the biggest consumer databases in the world," she said. But don't worry, O'Connor Kelly is there to make sure that all the information GE collects about you stays safe and secure.

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CCTV: Not Just For The 7-Eleven Anymore

The Department of Homeland Security is hosting a two-day workshop on the privacy and civil liberties implications of closed-circuit television surveillance. Panel discussions involve perspectives from the technology, law enforcement, community, international, and legal and policy arenas. In an age of Web wonders, CCTV, which some think of as an old-school, convenient store security tool, gets lost in the shuffle. But as speakers on Monday noted, CCTV has come a long way in the digital age. Read more in Technology Daily's PM edition. The photo above was taken at the deli on-site at the conference. It just seemed appropriate.

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Privacy Experts Laud DOJ ID Theft Grants

The Justice Department on Monday unveiled $1.7 million in funds for national, regional, state and local organizations and agencies that assist victims of identity theft and financial fraud. Read more about it in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

Betsy Broder, who oversees the FTC's ID theft efforts, lauded the grant-giving, told us that she met with and is providing guidance to the handful of groups that got the money. Every year, her agency responds to about 250,000 ID theft victims, she said.

Many consumers are "able to respond quickly and effectively themselves to recover from ID theft" but others aren’t as lucky, Broder noted. The grant program "contributes to the resources available for those consumers who need help" to recover from ID theft.

While certain forms of ID theft do not always have a financial impact, resolving issues can be time consuming and stressful for consumers, added Andy Serwin, a partner at Foley & Lardner who focuses on privacy and security matters.

Justice's focus on prevention is important, he said: "While identity theft can result from actions by third-parties, in many cases consumers themselves create conditions that increase their odds of being a victim of identity theft."

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, also weighed in. He said the grants will "provide critical assistance to some of the small organizations helping ID theft victims clear their names."

"In the long run, the solution to identity theft is to hold data collectors – banks, stores and government agencies – accountable so that they protect information better in the first place," Mierzwinski said.

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StopBadware Still Has Questions For Facebook

StopBadware.org, a Web site run by Harvard Law School, Oxford University and Consumer Reports, is weighing in on the controversy over social networking site Facebook's new application that lets users see what other members are buying online.

Upon announcing an opt-out for the controversial tool known as Beacon, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: "[I] hope that this new privacy control addresses any remaining issues we’ve heard about from you." StopBadware said it doesn’t.

Facebook offers its partner sites the option of whether or not to use an encrypted connection to send data (e-mail address, item purchased, etc.) from a user's PC to the Facebook's servers. StopBadware wants that action to be mandatory, not optional.

When a user declines to use Beacon or clicks "no thanks" when asked to publish a story in his/her profile, it is not made clear to the user that the data will still be sent to Facebook, the group said. Read more of StopBadware's blog post here.

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