[IP] ACLU's Marv Johnson on Postal Service report and privacy [priv][fs]
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 09:21:15 -0500
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [Politech] Implications of report by Postal Service
commission[priv][fs]
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 11:43:38 -0500
Thread-Index: AcOlSEDBUKxBPR3VR/W8cIbS9tdV2QAA0dyg
From: "Johnson, Marvin" <MJohnson@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Declan McCullagh" <declan@xxxxxxxx>
Declan: The decentralization does NOT mitigate the privacy concerns. The
report states at page 147 that the Postal Service is to explore the
feasibility of requiring "every piece of mail to include sender
identification." On page 148, the report states: "The Commission recommends
that the Postal Service, in coordination with the Department of Homeland
Security, study the development of sender-identification reuirements for
all mail. Issues of privacy should, of course, be noted and balanced with
the value of enhanced safety. As a part of the study, the Postal Service
should additionally explore the potential of technology to transition stamp
purchasing equipment (e.g. vending machines, cash machines, self-service
kiosks, post office counter sales, the Postal Service Website, and postage
meters) from the provision of general stamps to 'personalized stamps' that
automatically embed sender identification."
How technically feasible this is I can't say, but clearly the direction the
USPS will be going if all the recommendations are adopted is to require ID
before you can even BUY a stamp.
The Commission pays lip service to privacy concerns, but plainly
misunderstands the concept of privacy and the right to anonymous
communication protected under the First Amendment. Starting on page 147:
"Requiring all mail to identify its sender would likely have a negligible
impact on most users of the Postal Service who readily identify themselves
when they send mail and would consider such a requirement a relatively
modest concession to ensure their safety and that of the men and women who
deliver the nation's mail. The greatest inconvenience, most certainly,
would be to those who use the mail system for unlawful purposes, since such
a move would hand law-enforcement a powerful new tool to identify and
prevent such abuse." Thus, the Commission figures only criminals have
something to hide, ignoring all of the legitimate reasons one might want
the privacy and anonymity recognized by the Supreme Court as protected by
the First Amendment.
Relying on decentralization as a protection for privacy and anonymity is
just sticking one's head in the sand!
Marv Johnson
ACLU
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