Re: Fair Credit Reporting Act and Privacy Act

[Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>]

At 08:25 AM 2/5/96 -0500, Frank Willoughby wrote:

>If the Privacy Act were rewritten to be as strict as the BDSG, businesses
>would have a (mandatory) legal requirement to:
>
>o Ensure that personal data is stored properly (by encrypting it, etc)
>o Ensure that personal data is not distributed
>o Ensure that databases are *not* being maintained which describe the
>   characteristics of individuals (buying habits, income, property 
>   ownership, etc) wantonly propagated by marketing (direct mail, 
>   telemarketing, etc) companies.  
>

Unfortunately, it would also:

*  Require government registration of computers and databases containing
information about people (whether these computers are used by business or
individuals).  This eases regulation of computers and future confiscation.

*  Reduce market efficiency by making it harder to match buyers and sellers
(because neither could easily find out about he other) thus causing higher
prices and poorer people. 

*  Do nothing to protect personal information from the government which
would get to collect more of it than ever in the course of enforcing data
protection laws.

If you don't want people to know things about you, don't tell them.

DCF