HR 3261 and the ownership of facts [LWN.net]

HR 3261 and the ownership of facts

Posted Jan 29, 2004 3:04 UTC (Thu) by vblum (subscriber, #1151)
Parent article: HR 3261 and the ownership of facts

Hm. I have read only the article, not the bill itself, but is it really on copyright? The text
excerpts do not mention it.

One could also see the cited provisions as somewhat beneficial, and I think that is what the
underlying European version might have intended. Unlike geographical, scientific etc
databases, data collections which include personal information on anyone can be powerful
tools to abuse when in the wrong hands. The underlying fear is probably "What could the
Nazis accomplish today, if they came intro power and into possession of an all-
encompassing data collection?" May seem far-fetched to Americans, but if you read about
the early years of the Nazi regime and how they consolidated power, you may understand
what that came from.

However, there are much more mundane examples. For instance, I am sick and tired of the
fact that my entire credit history information can be bought by anyone who happens to
come across my SSN. If you have always lived within that system, you might not know. But if
you entered as a newcomer, a happily working professional, and you are denied some basic
service for the 3rd time because you have no credit history in the US, you may understand.
Not to mention countless letters of junk mail with unnecessary credit card offers for added
mockery.

I understand that this bill does not reign in the abuse of credit history data in the U.S. But,
that database is an excellent example of how such collections can be abused when handled
maliciously. And trust me, it is done maliciously.

Anything that reigns in the free traffic of personal data is a good thing. Yes, the bill should
have written "privacy protection" and not "abstract databse" on it for that. But do not reject
such legislation per se. I'd be mighty glad if some entities were denied the freedom to sell
my personal data.

(Log in to post comments)

HR 3261 and the ownership of facts

Posted Jan 29, 2004 9:12 UTC (Thu) by ken (subscriber, #625) [Link]

Read the pdf it's really not about protecting people from ending up in good only knows what
database. It dose try to protect publically accessable databases from being copied.

bassically it makes it illigal for someone to to extract infomation from ebay or simmilar
entity even if you actually are allowed to read all the infomation.

At least that was the impression I got.

HR 3261 and the ownership of facts

Posted Jan 29, 2004 9:16 UTC (Thu) by beejaybee (guest, #1581) [Link]

Yes, as I understand it, what the EU is trying to restrict is the propogation of personal data without the consent of the data subject.

I wonder which of the US-based megacorporations is funding the current attempt to pervert this into yet another way of restricting competition and so increasing their profits.

The principle here is not that databases should be copyrightable but that information personal to a "data subject" belongs to that data subject (person or corporation), not to the owner/maintainer of the database in which the information happens to be stored.

This is a real issue with the impending introduction of RFID tags, which will for example enable retailers to discover what brand of underwear you are wearing (if any!), where you bought it from and how much you paid by linking the IDs scanned from the tags you're inadvertently carrying at the shop entrance and linking into the database.

If anyone wants an idea for a real killer gadget, how's about one (linux powered of course) which will permanently disable or garble the content of RFIDs.

HR 3261 and the ownership of facts

Posted Jan 29, 2004 15:30 UTC (Thu) by kfiles (subscriber, #11628) [Link]

I wonder which of the US-based megacorporations is funding the current attempt to pervert this into yet another way of restricting competition and so increasing their profits.

Think of the big directory companies: Thompson, West Group (WestLaw), and Reed Elsevier (Lexis-Nexis).

--kirby

HR 3261 and the ownership of facts

Posted Jan 29, 2004 18:52 UTC (Thu) by allesfresser (subscriber, #216) [Link]

>If anyone wants an idea for a real killer gadget, how's about one (linux powered of course) which will permanently disable or garble the content of RFIDs.

Wouldn't that be a DMCA violation? :-(