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Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Advisory

"Brides" Protest Macy's Privacy Practices

Electronic Frontier Foundation Disputes Macy's Bridal Registry

For Immediate Release: June 11, 2001

Contact:

Will Doherty, EFF Online Activist / Media Relations,
  wild@eff.org,
  +1 415 436 9333 x111
Debora Pierce, EFF EFF Staff Attorney,
  dsp@eff.org,
  +1 415 436 9333 x106

San Francisco - Activists garbed in bridal gowns and other concerned citizens will protest Macy's Bridal Registry privacy practices tomorrow at 12:00 noon at Macy's Union Square store. The Electronic Frontier Foundation today issued a call to protest Macy's disclosure of personal information without permission to many companies.

"We want an opt-in privacy policy, so that Macy's has to ask permission before disclosing bridal registrants' personal information to many affiliates and business partners," said Deborah Pierce, staff attorney at EFF. "The information Macy's discloses is very personal, including name, address, email address, phone number, credit card number, zip code, age, personal interests, and birth date."

The heart of the debate is whether an opt-out privacy policy is adequate protection for an individual's privacy both online and off. Opt-out puts the burden on individuals to communicate with every company to tell them not to share or sell the individual's personal information. Industry is a strong supporter of opt-out procedures. Opt-in, on the other hand, shifts the burden to the company who wants to use personal information. With an opt-in policy, the company must contact the individual first, before the company uses the personal information. If the individual does not respond back, a company cannot presume consent or disclose any personal information.

The Macy's Union Square Protest will take place at 12:00 noon Pacific on Tuesday, June 12, at Macy's Union Square in San Francisco, CA, accessible by BART/Muni, Powell station.

Protestors will also mail or email letters to Macy's explaining that Macy's should not disclose personal information without explicit permission.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation also supports California Governor Davis' position approving of legislation requiring opt-in privacy policies.


For additional background and information on online privacy and data-sharing, see:

EFF Topics: Marketing Privacy & Profiling
  http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Marketing/

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse:
  http://www.privacyrights.org

Electronic Privacy Information Center:
  http://www.epic.org

Privacy Pledge:
  http://www.privacypledge.org

About EFF:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to Web sites in the world:
  http://www.eff.org/

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