From David J. Gebhart Sent Mon, Aug 17th 1998, 16:55
From David J. Gebhart Sent Mon, Aug 17th 1998, 16:55
since many of you use Geocities to host yer sites... others, sorry for the bandwaste. DGeb ------------INFORMATIONWEEK DAILY-------------- The E-Mail News Service For IT Decision Makers ___FTC Charges GeoCities With Internet Privacy Violations___ The Federal Trade Commission yesterday embarked on its first Internet privacy case, charging GeoCities with improperly collecting personal information from customers. GeoCities is a popular Internet site that hosts personal home pages and provides E-mail services. The FTC claims the Web site misrepresented the reason given to subscribers for collecting personal information from adults and children. GeoCities denied the charges but said in order to settle the complaint quickly, it agreed to post a prominent privacy notice on its Web site, outlining for consumers the specific information that it collects, the purpose for doing so, and how consumers can access and remove the information. "Our visitors are very important to us and are the primary reason GeoCities has developed and implemented privacy safeguards," said Thomas Evans, GeoCities president and CEO, in a statement. "GeoCities misled its customers by not telling the truth about how it was using their personal information," said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "This case is a message to all Internet marketers that statements about their information collection practices must be accurate and complete." GeoCities requires potential subscribers to complete an online application that includes mandatory and optional information. The optional information is not supposed to be released without the members' agreement. The FTC alleges that GeoCities released the optional information to third parties without subscriber permission. This information includes education level, income, marital status, occupation, and personal interests. --Mary E. Thyfault ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com