RE: article on US gov't interest/concern with CPExchange

[Vincent Buller <vincent@and.nl>]

Thanks John, this is certainly valuable information and we should try to
steer clear of these happenings.

However, I see that it is more the *intent to use* this technology that is
being attacked than the standardizing process itself. I mean, you could
prohibit the development of fiber optic wire also because it may be used to
transmit illegal material, but the good obviously outweighs the bad. I
believe the worries about CPExchange are that by means of the consortium
data warehousing agreements are made more easily between members. For the
same reason, the OTA has in its bylaws a rule that at OTA meetings no
pricing strategies may be discussed (to prevent susceptibility to anti-trust
legislation).

If things don't calm down, perhaps we should be more explicit in our
possible relations to encryption and privacy standards (XML Encryption,
P3P). On a personal note, I have trouble agreeing with the route that P3P is
taking but this may be due to incomplete understanding on my side. I do not
agree with them developing content (they also define an Address, without any
content experts on their panel! Don't they overestimate themselves?);
instead all I would like them to do is define some attributes in a separate
namespace, stating privacy sensitivity of its parent element, that we may
add to our elements.

Cheers,
Vincent






> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Bennett [mailto:john@parlo.com]
> Sent: Friday, December 15, 2000 8:35 PM
> To: 'Ram Kumar'; 'Vincent Buller'
> Subject: article on US gov't interest/concern with CPExchange
>
>
> The misperception of CPExchange by politicians is
> interesting.  They see it
> as killing privacy, while CPE says it is P3P-enabling user
> data -- putting
> control into user's hands.
>
> We should keep this in mind as we move ahead -- especially on the
> marketing/evangelism front.
>
> -JB
>
>
> Senator Seeks Review of System for Sharing Personal Data
> By Kathleen Murphy
>
> A U.S. senator is asking the Federal Trade Commission to
> review an Internet
> industry plan to develop a system of sharing customers'
> behavioral data.
>
> Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., wants a review of the Customer Profile
> Exchange, a system that would coordinate the computer systems
> used to store
> consumer information such as purchase history and personal
> data. Among the
> companies involved in the CPExchange are First Union,
> Microstrategy, and
> IBM.
>
> Launched at Fall Internet World, in October, the CPExchange
> Network is a
> volunteer consortium made up of more than 70 e-business
> organizations that
> are developing a vendor-neutral, open standard for exchanging
> privacy-enabled customer information across different businesses and
> computer systems. Organizers said the CPExchange standards benefit
> businesses and their customers by giving customers a unified
> profile that
> will reduce the complexity of interacting with companies.
>
> But in a letter Thursday to John Hawke, U.S. Comptroller of
> the Currency,
> Sen. Shelby said First Union's involvement in CPExchange
> raises questions
> about the bank's compliance with privacy provisions in the
> Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The law requires that financial
> institutions provide
> disclosure of their privacy policy including categories of
> persons to whom
> information is disclosed.
>
> In a statement, First Union said it is committed to
> protecting the privacy
> and security of customer information.
>
> "We are a member of the Customer Profile Exchange network;
> however, we have
> made no corporate decision to use this technology," the
> statement said. "Our
> top priority is clearly serving our customers and we would not use
> technology that would violate the privacy or security of our customer
> information."
>
> Shelby said the CPExchange raises concerns about companies'
> ability to track
> and monitor a person's most personal decisions, transactions,
> and behavior.
>
> "It has become virtually impossible in today's society for
> consumers to
> protect their own personal information and to prevent the sale of that
> information," Shelby said in a statement. "The development of
> the Customer
> Profile Exchange may create an environment in which consumers are
> increasingly vulnerable in this respect."
>
> A spokesman for CPExchange, Paul Conn, said, "I respect Sen. Shelby's
> concern. We believe that CPExchange is not part of the problem but a
> solution to the problem or at least a step in the right direction."
>
> Conn, who is vice president of electronic business initiatives for
> IDEAlliance, said CPExchange isn't a privacy standard but a
> customer service
> standard. He pointed out that companies, such as mail-order catalog
> companies, have been sharing customer information and mailing
> lists for
> years.
>
> "CPExchange is not increasing or improving the frequency or
> occurrence of
> that type of activity, so I don't see it as a Big Brother
> approach," Conn
> said.
>
> Conn said the CPExchange participants are prepared to help an FTC
> investigation in any way.
>
> "We're proud of what we've accomplished with CPExchange and
> have nothing to
> hide," Conn said.
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> John Bennett
> Parlo Inc.
> 212 5th Avenue, 8th Floor
> New York, NY 10010
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>
> Parlo  -  Language. Culture. Life.
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