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Texas Protects DrKoop Users' Privacy
by Liza Porteus
Texas Attorney General John Cornyn has reached a deal with bankrupt DrKoop.com to guarantee that the medical histories of 1 million customers included in the company's database will be protected.
Customers who shared their private medical and health information online with DrKoop must consent to have the information transferred if the site is sold. The agreement must obtain bankruptcy court approval, and a hearing has been set for April 17 in Los Angeles.
"Those who voluntarily submitted such information about themselves did so with an expectation that their personal information would be kept confidential, and we must honor that," Cornyn said in a statement.
DrKoop agreed to notify customers of any pending sales of the Web site and offer them a chance to opt-in, or agree, to have their information transferred. If customers do not respond, or decline to have their information disclosed to a new buyer, their file will be destroyed. DrKoop's privacy policy states, among other things, that personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to anyone unless an individual consents. Consumers will be notified of any changes made to that policy.
"If they have a privacy policy, we expect them to abide by it," Cornyn spokesman Tom Kelley said in an interview.
"We've been at the forefront in privacy protection with these bankruptcy cases ... since day one," Kelley said. "[Cornyn has] sort of been in the vanguard in this ... and others have picked up on that."
In 2000, Cornyn was instrumental in states' efforts to prevent Toysmart.com from selling its customer list at a bankruptcy auction. Also that year, Cornyn reached a settlement with Living.com to prevent the bankrupt online furniture retailer from selling customer information without consumer consent. In May 2001, Cornyn, along with state attorneys general from Maryland and Delaware, brokered a similar agreement with eToys.com.
"If we see that Texas consumers are sort of possibly put in some jeopardy ... jeopardizing their privacy, we can sort of intervene to see this is properly handled in the court," Kelley said. "That's really what our role is, to safeguard that process, not get involved in the larger bankruptcy proceedings."
States Test SSTP Software
Kansas, Michigan and North Carolina this month electronically received sales taxes from remote e-commerce sellers for the first time. The treasurers' offices of those states participated in a pilot project designed to determine ways to use technology to streamline sales-tax systems and to collect taxes on remote e-commerce businesses. Taxware is the first certified service provider in the Streamlined Sales Tax Project.
"Congress should recognize the tremendous work that has been done and that will continue when the House and Senate next year take up the Internet tax moratorium," National Governors Association Executive Director Ray Sheppach said in a statement.
California Gets New Anti-Terrorism Tool
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Tuesday unveiled Cal-Photo to help local law enforcement agencies identify criminals through a criminal and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) photo data bank. The California Anti-Terrorism Information Center has been using the system, which was established after Sept. 11.
While many local agencies have internally accessible data banks of criminal-booking photos, there has been no system allowing instant access to other photo banks or to the 32 million driver's license and identification photographs housed in the state DMV. Law enforcement agencies will use Cal-Photo to search for an image utilizing the subject's name, physical description, or one of the subject's identification numbers, such as a driver's license number or arrest record.
West Virginia Lures Techies With Tax Breaks
West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise last week signed into law a bill aimed at making the Mountain State more attractive to businesses.
H.B. 4005 includes provisions to replace a dozen outdated or ineffective tax credits with programs that are more closely associated with 21st century industries and jobs. It provides tax incentives to businesses to expand or locate in West Virginia and simplifies the process. It also creates four new tax credits for economic opportunity, manufacturing, electric generation and research and development. H.B. 4005 also provides $25 million in venture capital to help jump-start new high-tech businesses. The money provided by the legislation also will receive a federal match, with the goal of raising up to $100 million in new businesses.
Wise also Saturday signed into law a $2.9 million budget that focuses on funding for jobs creation, education and homeland security without raising taxes.
The budget also calls for the state's first-ever August sales tax holiday on back-to-school items such as pencils, notebooks and certain clothing. A Wise spokeswoman said it was debated whether to include computer-related items in the sales-tax holiday, but they ultimately were not included in the final bill.
Dallas Orchestrates Emergency E-mail Plan
Dallas residents soon will be able to receive emergency e-mail alerts from state and federal agencies on their computers, pager and cell phones. Dallas officials will be able to coordinate emergency messages sent to citizens via the Emergency Email Network, a free nationwide communications infrastructure. The system is available to 3,000 counties nationwide, giving member agencies direct access to proprietary databases of businesses, citizens, government agencies and media, which can subscribe to receive the messages.
Siebel Expands Presence In Utah
Siebel Systems will build a 30,000-square-foot Enterprise Data City in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gov. Mike Leavitt announced last week. The company currently employs 125 workers there and hopes to boost that number to 600 by 2005.
"Siebel Systems' decision to expand in Utah is an example of Utah's ability to attract top Silicon Valley firms," Leavitt said.
Siebel Chief Information Officer Mark Sunday said Utah's highly educated and committed workforce will allow the company "to secure the combination of IT talent and sound infrastructure that we need."
Siebel executives were among hundreds of business executives hosted by Leavitt to promote Utah's economy during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
People News
South Dakota Gov. William Janklow has appointed professor James Rice to the South Dakota Math, Science and Technology Council. Rice is the head of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at South Dakota State University.
In other South Dakota news, Bill Mickelson, commander of the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Enforcement Unit, and other officials from the unit, toured the state to talk about the dangers children face on the Internet and what parents and teachers can do to help protect kids online.
Massachusetts Telecommunications Council Executive Director Katherine Raphaelson will step down in June to join her husband in Washington, where he took a job managing a $75 million foundation.
And The Envelope Please...
The ComputerWorld Honors 21st Century Achievement Award on April 7 will be given, in San Francisco, to government and industry groups for their leadership in technology.
Nominees include: Michigan.gov, Oakland, California's Digital Neighborhood Watch; My California Internet Portal Project; Boston Administrative Information System; Florida's Single Licensing Project; NC@Your Service; New Mexico's E-Child Support Initiative; San Francisco's VolunteerMatch online community service database; Oklahoma's e-Childcare; Pennsylvania's case management system; Baltimore's criminal justice information management system; eBay's Auction for America; and New Jersey's Enterprise PKI (public key infrastructure)-based intranet.
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