Fergie's Tech Blog

EFF Calls for Limits on Data Collection and Retention

Via The EFF.

As Congressional hearings about how U.S. Internet companies do business in China are set to begin, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is calling for the industry and government to work together to develop simple guidelines to decrease the harm done by participating in authoritarian regimes.

"Without careful thought, even well-meaning Internet companies can become the handmaidens of state repression. Internet routers can be turned into powerful wiretapping tools," said EFF Activism Coordinator Danny O'Brien. "Web servers and search engines can become honeypots of personal data, plundered by state police to identify dissidents."

In an open letter to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations and the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, EFF says the best course of action for companies concerned about human rights violations and censorship is to avoid repressive countries all together. However, EFF believes that companies deciding to go forward can mitigate some of the harm.

posted by Fergie @ 2/15/2006 05:56:00 PM