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Info on battle over caller ID in CA
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From: Nikki Draper <[email protected]>
Subject: CNID press release
X-To: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list CPSR <CPSR%[email protected]>
PACIFIC BELL'S PHONE PRIVACY RINGS FALSE, SAYS
COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
PALO ALTO, Calif., August 10, 1992 -- Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility (CPSR), a national alliance of professionals
concerned with the impact of technology on society based here,
expressed deep concern over Pacific Bell's attempt to gut a recent
California Public Utility Commission (PUC) order on Calling-Number
Identification (CNID). Pacific Bell has requested a rehearing on the
PUC restrictions. PacBell's proposal will eliminate important safety
and privacy protections in the Commission's order, CPSR charged.
CNID allows businesses to collect the phone numbers of customers
who call them.
The Commission's order guarantees privacy protections for all
Californians. PacBell proposes to eliminate a key privacy protection
called Per-Line Blocking with Per-Call Unblocking. This feature
prevents home numbers from being collected by businesses, unless
the caller decides to give it to them. Phone companies would prefer
to only offer per-call blocking, a scheme in which caller numbers are
always given out unless the caller remembers to dial a blocking code
before dialing the desired number.
"If this happens, Californians will inevitably receive more junk mail,
more annoying phone calls, and greater invasions of their privacy,
some of which may be dangerous," said CPSR Chair and user interface
expert, Dr. Jeff Johnson.
PacBell claims that CNID would give people more control over their
privacy by providing the phone number from the calling phone. This
is the wrong technological answer to the problem according to
Johnson. "What people want to know is who is calling, not what
phone is being used. If my wife's car breaks down and she calls me
from a pay phone, that's a call I want to answer. CNID doesn't give
me any information that will help me do that."
In PUC hearings held last year, Johnson accused the phone companies
of designing a service that is more useful for businesses in gathering
marketing data than for consumers in screening calls. Phone
companies are opposed to per-line blocking because it would
presumably result in more numbers being kept private, thereby
reducing the value of the CNID service to business subscribers.
"Phone companies don't want you to block your phone number when
you call movie theaters or appliance stores. The more times your
number is revealed to businesses, the better! So they oppose
reasonable blocking options and are pushing an error-prone one," he
said.
If only per-call blocking were available, residential phone customers
-- or their children, parents, grandparents, guests -- would often
forget to dial their blocking code before making a call, resulting in
frequent disclosure of private information to businesses without the
consent, and sometimes even without the knowledge, of the caller.
"Unless PacBell is willing to live within the very reasonable bounds
set by the PUC decision, the concerns of Californians will be far better
served if CNID is simply not offered at all," said Johnson.
"Subscriber privacy is more important that Pacific Bell's profits."
Founded in 1981, CPSR is a public interest alliance of computer
scientists and other professionals interested in the impact of
computer technology on society. As technical experts and informed
citizens, CPSR members provide the public and policy makers with
realistic assessments of the power, promise, and limitations of
computer technology. It is a national organization, with 21 chapters
throughout the United States. The organization also has program
offices in Washington D.C. and Cambridge, MA.
For information on CPSR, contact the national office at
415-322-3778 or [email protected].
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