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To: H James Morris who wrote (24533)	11/5/1998 10:25:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Only < 27% can shop on-line. The current Amzn stock price would make you think that the whole world is shopping on-line. interactive.wsj.com James, A lot of investors need to read this. It is very accurate in my opinion. Thank you for the link. Glenn

To: H James Morris who wrote (24533)	11/5/1998 7:45:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Law threatens U.S. e-commerce U.S. relying on voluntary privacy practices for now. By Ellen Messmer Network World Fusion, 11/04/98 A new European Union privacy law could have a big impact on U.S. businesses that process data on European citizens over the World Wide Web or that operate in EU countries. The EU Privacy Directive prohibits collection, resale or reuse of data on individuals without their explicit consent. The EU law requires government-run data privacy agencies in Europe to investigate complaints and, if warranted, order the destruction of personal data warehoused by corporations. The U.S. and Europe are now on the brink of a trade war over the directive. Unless the U.S. adopts similar measures to protect the privacy of personal data, the Europeans could cut off the flow of processed data. U.S. Commerce Undersecretary David Aaron has won a postponement, until mid-December, of punitive measures being enforced against U.S. companies. By that time, both sides hope to reach what Aaron calls "a workable framework" of principles that would be a "safe harbor" for businesses. These as-yet-undefined principles will be published by the Department of Commerce for public comment within a month or so. "If a company does adhere to these principles, it would be held harmless for suits or actions taken by European government authorities," Aaron says. "Our concept is that the Department of Commerce has the authority to provide guidance to industry on what businesses should do abroad." In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has worked hard to get firms to voluntarily tell consumers how personal data about them is being used. Under this system, individuals can choose not to have data about them used for marketing purposes. However, an FTC survey earlier this year showed that 92% of Web sites are collecting and recycling personal information, while only 14% have stated privacy policies. To protect their own citizens, the Europeans now want the U.S. to formalize enforcement of privacy rules, Aaron says. U.S. officials are worried that firms will exploit the EU directive, lodging legal complaints intended solely to disrupt competitors' operations. A London-based public-advocacy group called Privacy International claims to be building a case against two dozen U.S. and European firms, including AT&T, Bayer AG, British Telecommunications, Ford Motors, Proctor & Gamble and Royal Dutch Shell. In addition, the group is said to be building a case against the FBI. At IBM, where an internal data-privacy policy guards the use of IBM employee information, the EU law raises questions about whether the company will have to alter customer marketing practices throughout its largely international Web commerce operations. "We have a wealth of customer information in our databases and this is used for marketing," says Cal Slemp, IBM global offering executive for security services. "The question is: Do we have to go back and get permission from everyone who happens to be in our database?" Some privacy law experts maintain it will not be sufficient under the European guidelines to simply advertise a data privacy policy that asks for blanket permission to do whatever is desired with personal information. "A Web data privacy policy is a good start," says Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "But under the directive, it's quite clear that blanket consent isn't going to be enough." Some interpretations of the law suggest individuals will have to be contacted to get their consent for each new use of their data. Contact Senior Editor Ellen Messmer The EU directive Today's breaking news Get daily news delivered to your mailbox with a free NetFlash subscription Microsoft, Qualcomm in wireless deal HP widens security reach with firewall, VPN deals MS/DOJ: MS paints Apple as hardball player McNealy bashes Microsoft smart card OS Cisco posts 35th consecutive growth quarter More breaking news Top news this week in Network World: PC servers get big iron boost Alteon powers up switches Frame does voice cheap Fast router feast Keeping Current: Internet insurance More news, features from Network World