NEGATIVE – COUNTERPLAN – FREE MARKET – INDIVIDUALS WILL PROTECT 85

NEGATIVE — COUNTERPLAN — FREE MARKET — INDIVIDUALS WILL PROTECT 85

INDIVIDUALS CAN USE PRIVACY ENHANCING TECHNOLOGIES (P.E.T.S)

A MAJOR MODEL OF PRIVACY PROTECTION IS TO RELY ON NEW PRIVACY TECHNOLOGIES

David Banisar and Simon Davies, Deputy Director of Privacy International (PI) and Director General of Privacy International and a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics, "GLOBAL TRENDS IN PRIVACY PROTECTION: AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PRIVACY, DATA PROTECTION, AND SURVEILLANCE LAWS AND DEVELOPMENTS," The John Marhall Journal of Computer & Information Law , Fall, 1999, 18 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 1, EE2001-JGM, P.

Privacy protection has moved into the hands of individual users with the recent development of commercially available technology-based systems. Users of the Internet and of some physical applications can employ a range of programs and systems that will ensure varying degrees of privacy and security of communications. These include encryption, anonymous remailers, proxy servers, digital cash and smart cards. Questions remain about security and trustworthiness of these systems. Recently, the European Commission evaluated some of the technologies and stated that the technological tools would not replace a legal framework, but could be used to compliment existing laws. n40

PETS ARE IDEAL FOR ENHANCING PRIVACY OF CONSUMERS AND INDIVIDUALS

Ann Cavoukian, Commissioner of the Information and privacy Commission of Ontario, "The Promise of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies," VISIONS OF PRIVACY: Policy Choices for the Digital Age, 1999, EE2001 -JGM, p. 127

In an age of electronic records and networked communications, a coordinated effort will be needed from all sectors to preserve the privacy of medical information. The process of building privacy into information systems and software applications begins by recognizing the distinction between privacy and security. Introducing fair information practices into the process will, of necessity, broaden the scope of data protection, expanding it to cover both privacy and security concerns. The greatest protection, however, will come from de-identifying or anonymizing personal information, especially in the context of health information networks.

Both blind signatures and biometric encryption provide for maximum privacy through advanced systems of encryption. Privacy-enhancing technologies such as these should receive the full support of those interested in protecting privacy and those interested in eliminating fraud. They achieve the goal of fraud reduction without giving away the individual's identity - or privacy - in the process.

The use of anonymizing, privacy-enhancing technologies such as those described above, which minimize or eliminate personally identifiable information, are ideal in that they serve the needs of both individuals and organizations: personal privacy is maintained through the anonymity afforded by such systems, while organizations are assured of the authenticity of the individuals they conduct business with, in their ongoing attempts to combat fraud. Both needs are met, resulting in a true win/win scenario.

PETS ARE BEST MEANS TO ENSURE DATA IS COLLECTED FOR ONLY THE PRIMARY PURPOSE

When systems are not built with privacy in mind, which is generally the norm, one may not be able easily to isolate the primary purpose of the collection (in order to restrict the uses of the information to that purpose alone). In addition, if different types of information have been gathered by the same organization for different purposes, then access should be restricted to those with a need to know a particular type of information - not the entire set. This requires the creation of segregated fields of data, with a clear demarcation of who should be permitted access to what fields. Far better, however, would be the anonymization of personally identifiable data through PET.

PETS MAKE PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS SECURE AND ANONYMOUS

Why must it be the case that every time you engage in a wide range of activities - using a credit or debit card, making a telephone call, subscribing to a magazine, joining a club, ordering goods from a mail order catalogue, or buying something at a grocery or department store, an identifiable record of each transaction is created and recorded in a database somewhere? To obtain a service or make a purchase (other than with cash or a cash card), organizations require that you identify yourself. This practice is so widespread that it is treated as a given. The time has come to challenge this view. It is now possible for transactions to be conducted anonymously, yet securely, with proper authentication. Emerging technologies of privacy not only make this quite possible, but quite feasible.

PETS HELP CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES

Consumer polls repeatedly show that individuals value their privacy and are concerned with potential losses in this area when so much of their personal information is routinely stored in computers, over which they have no control." Anonymity is a key component of maintaining privacy. Protecting one's identity is synonymous with preserving one's ability to remain anonymous. Technologies that provide authentication without divulging identity not only address privacy concerns, but also provide much-needed assurances to organizations regarding the authenticity of the individuals with whom they are doing business.

MANY SOFTWARE PROGRAMS NOW ALLOW YOU TO PROTECT YOUR WEB PRIVACY

The Plain Dealer, October 25, 1999 SECTION: PERSONAL TECH; Pg. 6E TITLE: PRIVACY IN PERIL; THE SAME WEB THAT GIVES YOU ACCESS TO THE WORLD GIVES THE WORLD ACCESS TO YOU // acs-EE2001

In the absence of stricter regulations, Internet users who want to protect their privacy can turn to several software products and Web sites that will help shield their identities online.

Examples:

Web Incognito, from Privada Inc. of San Jose, Calif., compartmentalizes and encrypts information so no one can make a connection between a Web identity - the name, password and personal data you give to Web sites - and a real-world identity.

Cookies - the files that Web sites store on your hard drive to track your movements and remember your passwords - are stored on Privada servers. The software/service combination costs $5 a month.

http://www.privada.net

Anonymizer, based in La Mesa, Calif., offers a free product or, for $49.99 a year, a beefed-up version providing speedier access and additional features. Anonymizer is entirely Web-based, meaning there's no software to download; users surf to sites through the Anonymizer site, which masks their identity and deflects cookies.

http://www.anonymizer.com

Freedom, from Zero-Knowledge Systems of Montreal, is still in beta-testing mode, with a $49.95 version due soon. Freedom is software that sits on the user's computer and sets up a pseudonym for Web surfing, e-mail, newsgroup posting, file downloading and many other online activities.

http://www.zeroknowledge.com

Junkbuster, by Junkbusters Corp. of Green Brook, N.J., is free software that sits on a user's computer, throwing out cookies and other information the user doesn't want revealed.

http://www.junkbusters.com