Email Opt-Out for Privacy
by Richard Lowe, Jr.
In the United States and the European Union, privacy is quickly
becoming the number one issue for consumers. There is good reason
for the consumer's fears, as never before in the history of man
has the potential for abuse of personal information been so high.
Look at this this way - practically anyone can get on the internet
and find out all kinds of personal data about another person without
much effort. Once the information has been released, it is like
Pandora's box - it's really hard to unrelease (or close the lid).
Why are the people so excited about this issue? Well, if your
medical information is released to the wrong people you could
find it difficult to get insurance. Your driving record could
make it not only difficult to get car insurance, but you might
even be turned down for a job! Your credit history is available
in one form or another to just about anyone - and this can determine
your standard of living and employment for years.
Even messages sent to newsgroups can be recovered long after the
fact with the proper tools.
Add onto this the very real issues of identity theft (in which
people basically pretend they are you in order to abuse your good
credit), spam, stalking and so on, and you've got some real potential
for problems.
The politicians in the European Union and the United States of
America actually agree with their constituents that privacy is
an issue which must be addressed. However, the two massive powers
have taken vastly different directions - so different, in fact,
that some sort of collision is certainly going to happen in the
not so distant future.
It seems kind of backwards to me, but in the United States if
you want to protect your privacy you must opt-out. This came about
from a law called the Financial Services Modernization Act (also
known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or GLB). It required financial
institutions, including insurance companies and brokerage firms,
to mail you their privacy notices and to be in compliance with
federal law. The deadline for those institutions to do so was
July 1st, 2001. Of course, you can opt-out at any time - the deadline
was for the companies, not normal consumers like you and me.
This means you, the consumer, must figure out every company with
which you are doing business. You've got to determine, based upon
their privacy policies, contracts and agreements, how to opt-out.
Then you've got to call, write or email every single one of these
companies to inform them that you do not wish them to sell or
use your data.
The European Union, on the other hand, did it right. All companies
must ask you if it's okay to use your information before they
use it.
One of the problems that will occur is there will be some conflict
as US based companies that want to do business in the European
Union must meet the EU privacy requirements. This is actually
a trade war waiting to happen. But that's another story ...
Anyway, what does this mean to you? Well, if you live in the United
States and you value your privacy, you need to do some things.
Visit the Federal Trade Commission page on privacy - This will
help you get started on your long journey.
Gather information - For a couple of months at least, keep all
of your credit card summaries, utility bills, phone bills and
anything else from any place that might have information about
you. Keep all of this information in a folder, because you will
need it.
Start calling, writing and emailing - As you go through your information,
you will have to figure out how to opt-out. Sometimes it's a simple
email or a click box on a web site. Sometimes you have to call
a phone number or send an actual snail-mail letter. Keep good
records of whom you have notified.
You should receive an acknowledgement in the mail from each company.
Don't forget the credit bureaus - You can call one phone number
to opt-out from all four of the large credit bureaus. This number
is 1-888-567-8688, and the procedure is very simple. Be sure and
listen to the whole recorded menu, though, before you make your
choice. One option only works for two years, and a second (option
3) is forever.
Write your congressmen - This is the silliest scheme for privacy
protection that could possibly have been put together. It's so
difficult to opt-out that most people will not bother - and they
should take the time. Be sure and write your congressmen and let
them know how you feel - and remember, congressmen don't read
emails very often but they do read snail-mail letters.
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Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets
at http://www.internet-tips.net
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