Collection practices to avoid

A blogger from India has posted an e-mail of complaint that he sent to his cellular phone company, complaining about its collection practices. It appears that they make liberal use your calling records to track you down and to tell your friends and colleagues that you should pay your bill. Not a good practice and it certainly wouldn't fly under PIPEDA. We have the benefit of a similar situation that was considered by George Radwanski last year. In PIPEDA Finding #225, the Commissioner admonished a collection agency for leaving a phone message with a debtor's aunt that disclosed the existence of the debt. They had implied consent to leave a message to have the debtor call them, but disclosing the debt went over the line. Similarly, Radwanski found that a telephone company had improperly used personal information in Finding #61 by using called numbers to track down a delinquent customer. Just don't do it.

Below is an extract of the original blog post, which came to my attention via Engadget and TechDirt:

Manish Jethani - Unethical practices by Hutch collection agents: "[snip]

Last month, one of your collection agents, [agent's name and phone number], called up a friend and prospective client of mine, [my friend's name and phone number], seeking information on my whereabouts and requesting payment of the bill.

The aforementioned unwarranted and unethical act of [agent's name], on behalf of your department, has caused damage to my reputation with my client, potentially costing me business of several thousand rupees. It is absolutely unacceptable for a collection agent to get in touch with a customer's relatives, friends, clients, and any other contacts, regarding the customer's bill payments. Since I am told that this is standard practice at Hutch India, I am out to fight against it.

Here is what I am looking for:

• Written apology from Hutch India.
  
• Assurance from Hutch India that any such unethical practices currently employed by the collection agents will be discontinued with immediate effect.
  
• Compensation for damages.

[snip]"

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Australia begins review of private sector privacy legislation

The Australian Attorney General, Philip Ruddock, has initiated a review of private sector privacy legislation in that country.

Computerworld | Ruddock sets up privacy law review:

"Enterprises handling the personal information of customers are being given a second chance to influence the operation of the federal Privacy Act (1998). Federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock has announced a review of private sector provisions of the law.

According to a statement from Ruddock's office, Federal Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis has been asked to 'examine the impact of the legislation on the community and the private sector', with the review assessing whether regulation of the private sector has been a success since the introduction of national legislation three years ago.

Specifically, the review will consider whether the laws have achieved a 'comprehensive national scheme for the private sector that regulates how organizations collect, use, store, disclose and transfer individuals' personal information'. "

Interested readers should note that Canada's PIPEDA is subject to mandatory review, which will take place next year.

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Article: Plan to match Canadian passport photos with terrorist watch lists in works

The Canadian Department of Public Security has been involved in a trial of facial recognition software that, they hope, will be used to match passport photos against the mugshots of known and suspected terrorists. I'll be curious to see the results of the privacy impact assessment, if it is released:

Plan to match Canadian passport photos with terrorist watch lists in works:

"OTTAWA (CP) - Federal officials plan to screen the photos of Canadian passport applicants against images of suspects on terrorist watch lists.

The Passport Office recently tested a computer program that compares a picture of a face with thousands of other mugshot-style photos and zeroes in on possible matches.

The office is seeking approval from the federal privacy commissioner to use the facial-recognition technology in processing passport applications.

The proposal has raised questions about the accuracy and potential intrusiveness of the system among those who study the effect of security measures on privacy and civil liberties. "

I did some looking around the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada website and didn't find the report referred to in the article. If any readers know where to find it, please drop me a line.

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Re: F-bomb-dropping attorney gets worldwide notoriety

I was thinking a bit more recently about the story that was the basis for my previous post ("F-bomb-dropping attorney gets worldwide notoriety"). There is a second privacy aspect ... Thanks to the internet, the Chicago lawyer who left the message in question is probably going to be living with the incident for a very long time. It is now routine to google job applicants, contacts and just people you know. If he finds himself looking for a job or going on a blind date, googling his name will bring back this story as if it only happened today. I've heard it said that you should never write anything in an e-mail that you wouldn't wanted reported on the front page of the New York Times. This is a reminder that you shouldn't write an e-mail or leave a voice-mail that you wouldn't want on the front pages, either. The internet takes it to the next level, since it is all a quick click away.

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SFL Friday -- Labor Day Edition

So that was some speech last night, huh? I mean the power, the intensity, the enthusiasm, the stagecraft, I think good people from both sides of the aisle can agree that Senator Dick Durbin quite simply NAILED IT.

Oh, you mean someone else spoke, too? He wasn't bad either, I guess.

Anyways on to a fruitful and exciting weekend. Thanks to that little Kraut Hurricane now swirling to our southwest, conditions do indeed look positive for a simply spectacular weekend, windsurfing-wise.

I do hope you all have a safe, peaceful, and enjoyable holiday, wherever the winds may take you.

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BREAKING -- Charles Canady Newest Florida Supreme Court Justice

Charles T. Canady gets the nod:

Canady, 54, is Crist’s first appointment to the state’s high court. He will fill the vacancy left by Justice Raoul G. Cantero III, who resigned earlier this year.

“I consider this to be one of the most important decisions I will make as governor, because the Supreme Court justices make precedent-setting decisions that affect the lives of all Floridians for generations to come,” Crist said.

Canady has served on the 2nd District Court of Appeal since 2002. He also served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1984 to 1990. He was general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush from 2001 to 2002.

“It is an honor to be appointed to such an important post,” Canady said. “I am grateful to have the confidence and support of Gov. Crist, and I will work to uphold the Florida Constitution and our justice system.”

Let's look at some of the highlights. He helped lead the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. He voted yes to ban gay adoptions in DC. He voted against implementing the Kyoto greenhouse gas environmental accords. Here's his record on crime:

• Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime. (Jun 1999)
• Voted NO on maintaining right of habeas corpus in Death Penalty Appeals. (Mar 1996)
• Voted YES on making federal death penalty appeals harder. (Feb 1995)
• Voted NO on replacing death penalty with life imprisonment. (Apr 1994)
• Life imprisonment for repeat sexual predators. (Mar 1994)
• More prisons, more enforcement, effective death penalty. (Sep 1994)

He voted no on banning soft money and issue ads. He voted to decrease the gun waiting period from three days to one. Significantly for us lawyers, he voted to limit "excessive" punitive damages and to institute "loser pay" legal reforms.

Umm, congratulations Florida?

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DMX Engages in Sexy Pillow Talk With Judge Schwartz

They say the guy has a way with words, and he sure did show it at his bond hearing in front of Judge Schwartz yesterday:

On Wednesday (August 27), X (real name: Earl Simmons) pleaded guilty to his Florida charges of attempted purchase of cocaine and marijuana and was sentenced to time served and a $483 court fine, lawyer Bradford Cohen told MTV News. Had the case gone to trial, he could have faced six years in prison.

But because X's most recent arrest was for missing a pretrial hearing for an Arizona drug case, he will remain behind bars while Arizona authorities have 15 days to extradite DMX to their state, where he'll post bond and be released. If Arizona officials fail to pick him up within that time, he will be released, Cohen explained.

Prior to the plea deal, Judge Lawrence Schwartz denied the rapper's request for bond on Tuesday. When Schwartz set an October 3 court date for the now-closed case, the rapper curtly replied, "I ain't coming back on f---ing October 3."

While X was being led away, Schwartz scolded him. "Oh, that just ingratiated you to me — I've never heard the F-word before," he said, before turning to Cohen and saying, "You need to tell your client that I've heard the F-word before. ... He can send it to me anytime he wants to come in, if that's what makes him happy, but he certainly didn't help his stature any with what he mumbled as he left the podium."

What an f***ing dope.

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