Article Abstract:
Consumers should have the ability to control the dissemination of personal information that they must provide to businesses and the government. States should consider adopting the federal Freedom of Information Act restriction on access to personal information if the information is to be used for commercial purposes. States should also implement consumer protection laws providing the public with the opportunity to opt-out of disclosure when entering into contracts. Advances in direct mail and personality profiling need to be countered with increased privacy protections.
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Article Abstract:
Constitutional protections of the right to individual privacy, common law doctrines and compelling state interests support the banking industry's increasing use in 1998 of fingerprinting technology to reduce the annual $10 billion in check writing fraud. People who feel this process invades their privacy have no legal remedy since the process is a minor inconvenience without any searching into people's thoughts or way of life. The recognition of legal remedies seeking to prohibit fingerprinting would trivialize constitutional privacy rights.
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Article Abstract:
The Data Protection Directive released by the Council of the European Union in 1995 will provide member nations with the strongest and most comprehensive regulations yet but will also require national laws to be harmonized to promote compliance with the standards established. Some nations have differing bases for data privacy that could complicate harmonization. For example, the source of German laws is constitutional, and UK protections are essentially regulatory. More debate over the Directive is needed to resolve national differences.
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