PI Publishes Country Privacy Rankings
A new report from Privacy International ranked the state of privacy protection in 37 countries around the world. The survey was based on the EPIC/PI 2005 Privacy and Human Rights report and found wide disparities in the levels of privacy protection and enforcement (graphic). Germany and Canada placed at the top; the UK, Malaysia, and China were at the bottom. Privacy and Human Rights is available for sale at the EPIC Bookstore. (Nov. 2)

Privacy Commissioners Meet in London
Privacy officials, legal scholars, and NGOs from around the world gathered in London for the 28th annual International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners' Conference. A report on the Surveillance Society was presented. The Privacy Commissioners issued a resolution,
expressing concern about the rapid growth of surveillance. The 2007 conference "Privacy Horizons: Terra Incognita" will be be held in Montreal. (Nov. 1)

Microsoft Announces New Identity Management System
Microsoft has announced an "identity metasystem" that allows a user
to create multiple virtual ID cards. The approach appears preferable to the earlier Microsoft Passport identity system. In 2001 EPIC and a coalition of consumer groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that the the Passport system violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices in trade. In August 2002, the FTC agreed with EPIC that Passport was flawed and settled with Microsoft. As part of the settlement, Microsoft agreed to implement a comprehensive information security program for Passport and similar services. More information at EPIC Microsoft Passport Investigation Page. (Oct. 31)

NCVI Announces Recommendations for E-voting Systems.
The National Committee for Voting Integrity has prepared recommendations to assist voters and election administrators. The guidance was prepared with the assistance of the Brennan Center for Justice and addresses the use of electronic voting systems in the upcoming national elections. NCVI and the Brennan Center warn that the recent implementation of electronic voting systems will make ensuring that all votes are accurately counted a difficult and challenging task. It is estimated that 80% of all voters will use either Optical-Scan or direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems during this years election. For more information, see EPIC's Page on Voting Privacy. (Oct. 30)

European Commission: More Privacy Safeguards for RFID
The European Commission is calling for stricter privacy controls for radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The increasing use of RFID technology "will raise tremendous challenges for sovereignty, individual liberties and economic independence. It will be necessary that citizens keep control of how the information concerning them is utilized and updated and how the tags can be deactivated," EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said (pdf) at the EU RFID 2006 Conference. The Commission is considering proposing legislation to ensure privacy safeguards in RFID use. For more information, see EPIC's Page on RFID. (Oct. 16)

Government Report: Thousands Misidentified on Watch Lists
More than 30,000 travelers have been mistakenly linked to names on terror watch lists when they crossed the border, boarded commercial airliners or were stopped for traffic violations, according to a report (pdf) by the Government Accountability Office. EPIC has repeatedly (pdf) warned that the false positive problem -- when a person who is not a suspect is mistakenly matched to a watch list -- is difficult to fix. The watch lists include 325,000 names of terrorism suspects or people suspected to aid them, more than quadruple the 75,000 names on the lists when they were created in 2003. For more information, see EPIC's Page on Passenger Profiling. (Oct. 14)

Chicago Mayor: Surveillance Camera on Every Corner by 2016
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said that he plans that by 2016, there will be a surveillance camera on every corner in the city. "We'll have more cameras than Washington, D.C. ... Our technology is more advanced than any other city in the world -- even compared to London," he said. Chicago has more than 200 cameras, and Daley's Fiscal Year 2007 budget includes funds for 100 more cameras. EPIC has explained that studies have repeatedly shown that cameras do not prevent crime. It is better to have police and better lighting than cameras. Detroit, Miami and Oakland all have abandoned their camera surveillance systems because they did not cut down on crime. For more information, see Observing Surveillance and EPIC's Page on Video Surveillance. (Oct. 12)

Temporary Agreement Reached on Transfer of Passenger Data
The United States and the European Union have established a temporary arrangement for the transfer of personal information on European travelers that will expire in July of 2007. An earlier agreement was annulled by the European Court of Justice. The new agreement gives the Europeans greater control over the disclosure of passenger data to the United States. However, it leaves unresolved whether the United States has adequate privacy protections to safeguard the private information of European consumers. For more information, see the EPIC pages on Air Travel Privacy and EU-US Airline Passenger Data Disclosure. (Oct. 6)

US, Europeans Fail to Reach Accord on Passenger Data
The European Union and the United States are in a "legal vacuum" three months after the European Court of Justice struck down the passenger name record deal that allowed the transfer of personal information on European travelers to the U.S. government. European airlines face lawsuits by European citizens for violating European privacy laws if the information is disclosed to the U.S. without a new agreement. European consumer organizations have called for strong safeguards for personal data. Officials say negotiations will continue. More information at EPIC pages on Air Travel Privacy and EU-US Airline Passenger Data Disclosure. (Oct. 3).

D.C. Police Chief: Expanded Camera Surveillance Hasn't Cut Crime
In the seven weeks that they've been deployed, Washington, D.C.'s 48 new surveillance cameras have not helped to solve any cases, according to D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey. He spoke before the Council's Committee on the Judiciary about the emergency crime legislation adopted on July 11. EPIC and other groups opposed the Council's decision to expand camera surveillance, establish an earlier curfew, and grant police access to confidential juvenile information. EPIC has repeatedly warned (pdf) the Council that the use of public surveillance systems are ineffective and prone to abuse. For more information, see EPIC's Video Surveillance page. (Oct. 3)

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