Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 08:38:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Why is FTC allowing anyone to interrogate the "no call" list?
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Dave,
A story is making the rounds that the phone number for the judge who blocked
the "do not call" list on free speech grounds is itself on the list
( http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/27/do.not.call.ap/index.html ).
I don't care whether or not the judge's number is on the list. But I do
wonder why the FTC has apparently permitted indiscriminate access to the
"verify" function of the list in this manner via the Web. There is no valid
reason for this lack of privacy on this issue that I can think of. Many
persons in various professions could be harassed as a result.
The only persons who need access to this information are the person(s)
who control a phone number, and the telemarketers who have signed
up to access the list officially (and by the way, the telemarketing
signup link to the list, at least with my browser, warns of
an unknown certificate authority on the encrypted page!)
Regardless of whether or not the list ever becomes effective, the
FTC should assure that random persons cannot collect information
regarding the status of other persons' numbers via this system.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@xxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
Cooperation and Analysis - http://www.uriica.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy