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