Online private eyes draw privacy complaints

(continued from previous page)

spokesman Steve Barkovitz. "Everything we do is part of the public record," he said.

• Abika.com offers unlisted phone numbers and call records, identities of people using screen names on dating sites and in e-mails and instant messages, DNA testing and background checks.

"All of the allegations in the complaint are baseless and wrong," said Jay Patel, president of Abika. "Because of the Internet, information is becoming available to everyone. Why should it be accessed by only the elites?"

• OnlinePI offers cell phone location information, along with Internet and real-world surveillance. A company representative could not be reached for comment.

"The fact is that addresses and phone numbers and details of credit records aren't really that private."

--Kevin Bankston, staff attorney, EFF

• Discreet Research offers call records, phone searches and people location services. The company also did not return a phone call and e-mail seeking comment.

Although not mentioned in the complaint, Hoofnagle said he was also concerned with the practices of ZabaSearch.com. Privacy concerns propelled it into the news recently.

Los Angeles-based ZabaSearch is a search engine for personal information that provides current and past addresses and phone numbers and often birthdates. It also lists an e-mail address for people to use if they want to be removed.

"ZabaSearch does not gather, collect or maintain any of the public record data or publicly available data displayed on its pages, but acts as a gateway to publicly available and public record information," the Web site says.

Spokeswoman Michelle Jordan said the company only offers access to nonconfidential information obtained from public sources, such as property records, and data sold by companies that is gathered from places like sweepstakes entries, magazine subscriptions and credit card applications.

The founders of ZabaSeach argue that far from doing harm, they are in fact doing good by making it easy to find information that is in the public domain already but which only a select few have had access to.

That's a point at least one privacy advocate can see.

"The fact is that addresses and phone numbers and details of credit records aren't really that private. In fact, they are sloshing around many databases, bought and sold by data warehouses," said Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "ZabaSearch is making that information available to everyone instead of just the moneyed elites."

[trudancor]

The new Wild West

The internet today is pretty much like what the wild west was, that is, just about anything goes.
Only after severe consequencies will action be taken to put some rules around it. Unfortunately, by then the rules will be draconian.

A few months back a township resident applied for a permit to put on an addition to her home. One neighbor objected because the addition would block his view of stream. At the board meeting, the objecting neighbor presented all sort of disparaging information about the woman - from credit bureau report to child support and divorce information. All of this in the hope of proving that the she may be able to affort to start the work and not be able to finish it, thus the permit should not be granted.

Was this info always available, yes! But it was not $50 up front and a click of a mouse; you had to put some effort into it. I don't think the internet was intended to be a spy machine, yet here we are. And if we do nothing about it now, it will only get worse.

[Razzl]

Phone company has obligations to the customer

I'm shocked at this idea that third parties are getting access to phone bill information--the customers of the phone companies are the paying clients here, not these outsider--so the phone companies have an obligation to keep our call information private. It's time for phone companies to be put on notice that we won't stand for this abuse and want any of their employees who are providing data to third parties to be fired; and any phone companies that are providing such information as a matter of policy ought to be slammed by state regulators.

[trudancor]

Phone company has obligations to the customer

I am with you, the phone companies need to be held accountable. Many years back when I had worked for a telecom company, as an employee I could be fired for accessing a customer's bill without a valid reason. Yet it's being made available to just about anyone today?? What's next, will my medical record be available to everyone?