encrypted tapes (was Re: Papers about "Algorithm hiding" ?)
Adam Shostack
adam at homeport.org
Fri Jun 10 13:16:31 EDT 2005
On Fri, Jun 10, 2005 at 01:11:45PM -0400, astiglic at okiok.com wrote:
| "Ben Laurie wrote"
| > Sure, but Equifax should.
|
| No, they shouldn't! If you think they should, you are missinformed. At
| least in Canada, the Privacy Act protects the SIN, Equifax cannot demand
| it.
| See for example
| http://www.privcom.gc.ca/fs-fi/02_05_d_02_e.asp
| and
| http://www.guardmycreditfile.org/index.php/content/view/244/139/
| which says the following:
| "Even credit reporting companies cant demand a SIN to generate a credit
| report. Trans Union Canada and Equifax Canada both have the ability to
| generate such reports without a SIN. If you ask these same companies to
| generate a credit report in the United States, they both require a Social
| Security Number."
|
| And if Equifax Canada can generate reports without a SIN, I don't see why
| Equifax in any other country couldn't. Of course, they like to have the
| SIN, since it makes things more convenient, but they don't really need it!
| That is the problem in most cases.
Actually, there's a difference between theory and practice here. When
I signed up for a mobile phone, they demanded a SIN, or would put me
on the "sucker" plan. When I complained to the Quebec privacy
commissioner, they told me that that was OK.
There are so many examples of this sort of thing that I gave up
sending complaint letters. Then you look at CIBC, and the lack of
fines...
Adam
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