Proposed Massachusetts Green Party Privacy Statement
Friday May 25, @10:58PM, by Originally by Simson Garfinkel
Subject : Privacy
Summary :
Proposed by Simson Garfinkel, author of Database Nation : The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century and Mass. Green Party member.
In May 2000
Text :
Proposed Massachusetts Green Party Privacy Statement

Personal privacy is a fundamental human right and a basic requirement for a functioning democracy. Article 12 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds that "No one shall be subject to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."

And yet, our privacy is increasingly under attack by our government and our nation's businesses. These attacks are aided by increasingly advanced technology such as biometric identification, pervasive video surveillance, profiling, and ubiquitous information collection.

We believe that one of the most effective means for dealing with the increased attacks on personal privacy is by the adoption of data protection legislation and the creation of a regulatory body that would enforce such legislation. Such legislation should be based on legal tradition of data protection that was started with the 1973 US Code of Fair Information Practices, further evolved in the 1980 OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data, and most recently codified in the Canadian Standards Association 1994 Code for the Protection of Personal Information. The 1994 CSA standard holds the following data protection principles, which we support:

1. Accountability

An organization is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate an individual or individuals who are accountable for the organization's compliance with the following principles.

2. Identifying Purposes

The purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified by the organization at or before the time the information is collected.

3. Consent

The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate.

4. Limiting Collection

The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.

5. Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention

Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.

6. Accuracy

Personal information shall be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.

7. Safeguards

Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

8. Openness

An organization shall make readily available to individuals specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.

9. Individual Access

Upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall be given access to that information. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.

10. Challenging Compliance

An individual shall be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles to the designated individual or individuals accountable for the organization's compliance.
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