Re 192.com Graham Hamer comments that "Clearly someone feels the website
is a threat". I was told by someone a while ago that one search was
performed on 192.com for Jill Dando's details the month before she was
murdered. I expect it was used to trace where the recent winner on
"Who wants to be a millionaire" lives, so that photos of her house could
be splashed over the newspapers the next day. It could also be used to
trace long-lost school friends etc, etc. i.e. it can be used for good
or bad purposes.
It's one reason why Web site owners/editors should think seriously about
the level of personal data they disclose on their sites regarding their
employees (and students in the case of an educational institution), EVEN
IF THEY HAVE CONSENT! All you need is a name, and the place of
employment. You can take a guess that the person is likely to work
within a reasonable distance of their workplace, so narrow down which
of the people returned by a 192.com search is your 'target'. Harrassment
can then be taken to a far greater level as you now have the person's
work and home details... etc. In a survey of public library Web sites
I did a while back I found that one library Web site in Wales got round
this by providing the first names only of their staff. Another couple
of sites went to the other extreme and I was able to build up quite a
dossier of information about one example staff member that I chose at
random - full name, preferred first name, work hours, work address, tel,
fax, e-mail, home address and tel, etc.
192.com simply makes much easier what is a perfectly legal activity in
the UK - the right to consult an electoral register. As far back as 1997
the Data Protection Registrar (as she was then) issued guidelines in
which she made very clear her view that publication on the Internet is
different from publication on paper because of the hugely greater extent
of disclosure that can result. The DPC takes a dim view of services
such as 192.com, which is why she was one of those pushing for the change
in the law which takes effect next year that will allow UK citizens to
opt out of the 'public' version of the electoral register that local
authorities can make available (sell) to those who ask for it. They are
currently obliged to make the full version available to whoever asks
to buy it (I believe).
I-CD Publishing (UK) Ltd are a registered company in the UK and have an
entry in the UK Data Protection Register that describes their activities,
at http://www.dpr.gov.uk/cgi-bin/dpr98-fetch.pl?source=DPR&docid=177318
This would appear to be deficient however, as it does not list 'persons
making an enquiry' as one of the disclosures (recipients).
Best wishes,
Adrian
Adrian Tribe <[log in to unmask]>
Web Editor, Birkbeck College, University of London
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