[IP] IRGENT PRIVACY ISSUE WITH the new White House web site?

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Karl Auerbach <karl@cavebear.com>
Date: January 20, 2009 5:16:27 PM EST
To: dave@farber.net
Cc: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   anyone know who built the new White House web  
site?

David Farber wrote:

> Subject: Re: [IP] anyone know who built the new White House web site?

That new website contains a web tracking bug that feeds access data to  
a private tracking company (webtrendslive).

And that web bug does not appear to be noted in the new whitehouse  
site's privacy policy.

A while back I noted that the US Weather Service is equally feeding  
user access data to a private company, in that case Google, without  
any disclosure of this in their privacy policy, nor, in the case of  
the Weather Service, any response when a note is sent to their privacy  
officer.

These may well be inadvertent things done by civil service webmasters,  
but they demonstrate how easily even well intended government agencies  
can slip onto the path of leaking information about citizens' use of  
their government's services or citizens' access to their government's  
information.

		--karl--






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