D E P R I V A C Y

  Although we feel unknown, ignored
    As unrecorded blanks,
  Take heart!  Our vital selves are stored
    In giant data banks,

  Our childhoods and maturities,
    Efficiently compiled,
  Our stocks and insecurities
    All permanently filed,

  Our tastes and our proclivities,
    In gross and in particular,
  Our incomes and activities
    Both extra- and curricular.

  And such will be our happy state
    Until the day we die
  When we'll be snatched up by the great
    Computer in the sky.

                           - Felicia Lamport
                            (reprinted from _Look_)
		Found in _The Assault on Privacy_ by A. R. Miller (1971)

The following are sites that can be used to locate a particular person.

http://www.anywho.com

• phone/address/reverse telephone search
• Provides privacy, spam, and telemarketing information

http://www.four11.com

• e-mail/phone information
• email support@four11.com to be removed.

http://www.whowhere.com

• e-mail/phone/address information
• email delete-entry@whowhere.com

http://www.switchboard.com

• e-mail/phone/address information
• email webmaster@switchboard.com (with DELETE in the subject line)

http://bigfoot.com

• e-mail/phone/address/map information
• email overexposure@bigfoot.com

http://ada.infousa.com/

• lots of different information

http://www.searchamerica.com

• This service requires a subscription to view information.
• Their information page claims that they track names, addresses, and telephone numbers.
• email webmaster@searchamerica.com

Issues

This is the email that accompanied the above list:

Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 10:52:55 CST
From: Jon Handler 
Subject: ACTION ALERT: Stop the spread of personal information on the net

By permitting individuals to publish information about themselves and their
activities, the Internet has become a powerful tool for creating new social
connections across the barriers of geography and background. Recently,
though, several firms have started abusing the power of the Internet to
publish large databases of personal information without permission.  This is
impolite, and it many cases it can even be dangerous.

True story: recently, I followed a lead from MacUser magazine to a web page
for dealing with spam e-mailers. That page suggested that one of the first
steps to take was to contact services that track people's e-mail
addresses. With growing horror, I connected to page after page on the list
and located myself in their databases. Some services listed far more than
just name and e-mail address. My home address and phone number were
accessible from the same record. Two services even had a facility to show a
map of my neighborhood and the location of my house in it.

The widespread dispersal of information of this sort, without prior consent,
is a serious invasion of privacy. In some cases, publishing personal
information can be harmful to the individual.  For example, battered women
have very good reasons to keep present addresses confidential. Because these
services gather their data silently, from many sources, they present a real
threat to those who require anonymity. In addition, public databases serve
as a source for stalkers, scam artists, and junk mailers. Because they
potentially support these activities, databases of personal information
weaken the social environment of all people on the net inhabit.

Below I have listed the URL's for the pages, along with the information that
they contain and the contact address for that site.  Send mail to the
contact address, requesting that they 1) remove you from their database and
2) refrain from including you in the future.  Note, the mail you send must
contain enough information for the services to know which record to delete.
It's best to send the information that the service tracks. Also, be aware
that, unfortunately, there is no legal obligation for the companies to
remove your name.

			Jon Handler  jhandler@ils.nwu.edu